In Another Life
by evans516
Summary: AU version of my story "Look After You." Rather than not know about his daughter Jade until she is grown, Klaus follows his instincts and finds her when she's five years old. One shots of his parenting moments with her as she grows up. Please review!
1. Hold My Hand

**new story! this was suggested to me by Arianna Le Fay as an AU version of my story "Look After You" (where Klaus discovers he has an adult daughter Jade who eventually has Hope - if you wanna check that one out) in this version he'll know about Jade from when she's young and take part in raising her! i really wanted to write this bc it always made me sad watching TO and klaus/hope didn't get many normal moments together. some of the story/mythology is a little different, again this is AU, and i wanted to have things be a little simpler when he finds jade**

 **this won't be a full blown story, just one shots based off lines from my other story (things either Jade or Klaus wished they had been able to have as she was growing up) which will be at the top of each chapter**

 _ **Hold My Hand**_

 _"I should have acted on that impulse to go to Virginia. I should have found your mother, I should have known about you." - Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

 _1992_

"You're going where?" Elijah was asking in disbelief. His younger brother had certainly gone off the reservation this time. Some of his plans made him seem mad, but there was usually a method to the madness. Now he was purely just flying off the handle.

The last five years he had seen a change in his brother that he couldn't quite identify. In truth, Klaus should be the happiest he had ever been. It all started with the return of their older sister Freya in the late 1970s. She had come to them on her year awake, begging for help to free her from their Aunt Dahlia. After Dahlia was defeated, she helped Klaus break the curse that was keeping his werewolf side dormant. While she herself couldn't break it she suggested a coven she knew of that had witches that were able to siphon off magic. After they took the curse away Klaus was a hybrid fully and able to turn hybrids as well. With Esther long dead and Dahlia defeated there was only one other force they were left to face; Mikael.

That all came to an end in the late 1980s when the brothers managed to get a hold of some white oak, killing their father and freeing themselves from his torment. With Mikael gone and Freya linked to Klaus so she wouldn't age the only other thing to do was wake their remaining siblings. Well, everyone but Finn. Freya protested that the oldest Mikaelson brother should also be awake, but Klaus wouldn't budge and the others seemed to side with him.

They had everything that they wanted, they were traveling freely without worry. And now his brother was taking off?

"Mystic Falls," Klaus answered in annoyance, though he wasn't sure if he was annoyed with his brother or himself for actually going through with this.

"Why on earth-"

"I don't know," Klaus cut him off in exasperation. "I don't know why, but I can't..." He shook his head. "I can't shake this feeling, this heaviness," he motioned to his chest. "There's some draw in my mind, some voice telling me that I have to go there, but I have no idea why." His brother nodded sympathetically.

"Let's go then," Elijah told him. Whatever it was, they would face it together.

* * *

Early the next morning they arrived in Mystic Falls. They parked the car and began to walk around the small town. Elijah asked his brother if he was sure where he was going and Klaus just shook his head. Whatever this draw on his heart was was what was leading him, though that felt a little too cheesy to admit. Eventually, they were stopped at a busy playground; school was out for Thanksgiving break.

"What is it?" Elijah asked and Klaus just shrugged.

"I'm not sure," Klaus said, scanning the playground. Why come here of all places? Surely after all this time, all this torment in his mind, there had to be something here. That was when he spotted her. He nodded ahead at his brother and Elijah followed his gaze.

"That woman there?" Elijah asked and Klaus nodded; he looked a little closer. "Wasn't she in Chicago a few years ago?"

"She stayed with us in Chicago," Klaus elaborated and Elijah realized what he implied, remembering her now.

"You dragged us here over a feeling for _her_?" Elijah asked with some sarcasm.

"Why when you say it do you make it sound cheap?" Klaus asked.

"What was her name?" Elijah asked with raised eye brows.

"Kelly," Klaus announced without hesitation, seeming pleased with himself.

"Her last name?" Elijah questioned with a smirk; Klaus didn't answer but slightly smirked back.

"I don't know what to tell you," Klaus confessed, smirk fading. "But, I'm here for a reason and she's the only one I..." He was going to say recognized but he stopped. "Elijah."

"Hm?" Elijah asked, following his gaze again. As he was looking, Kelly was calling for someone.

"Jade!" Kelly was calling into the playground. "Baby, we gotta go!" A little girl no more than five was scurrying over to her mother, her wavy blond hair flying in the wind behind her. "C'mere!" Kelly grinned, scooping down to pick her up. Jade giggled as her mom planted a flurry of kisses on her cheeks. "Are you ready to get Vicki and Matty?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah," Kelly smiled back, holding her daughter still as she grabbed her purse and started to walk away.

"...how long has it been since you've seen Kelly?" Elijah asked now, both of their eyes glued on Kelly and her daughter.

"Oh my God," Klaus was saying as they both realized.

He was pulled there because that little girl was his, he knew it the moment they saw her.

* * *

After dropping her kids off at the sitter's for that afternoon Kelly went into work. She was exhausted, caring for Jade, toddler Vicki and recently born Matt. The pile of bills weren't going to pay themselves though, so here she was at the grille at her job as head bartender. It was mid afternoon so it wasn't too busy, most people coming in just for a late lunch. Looking up though her eyes caught the sight of two men entering the restaurant.

"Roberta!" Kelly called. "I'm headed out back to smoke." Her manager nodded, coming over to watch for her. Kelly rushed out the back door to the small alley, remembering both of them when she saw him. No one would ever believe her about what he was so Klaus never bothered compelling her. Running into someone now, she screamed.

"Easy," Klaus emphasized, letting her go.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kelly asked fearfully. Klaus looked her over once; she was very different than the last time he saw her. At twenty she was full of life, having a bit of a wild side, a spark that attracted him to her. Now, just a few years later, she seemed so worn; it was like life had knocked her around one too many times.

"We don't want any trouble," Elijah assured her.

"You're not here for her, are you?" Kelly was asking, still scared.

"She is mine," Klaus confirmed and Kelly nodded.

"I know what you are," she told him, remembering everything. "I know that's why there's something wrong with her," she continued.

"Wrong with her?" Klaus asked in concern.

"She," Kelly struggled for words. "She has these...outbursts," she settled on the term. "Whenever she gets really upset things literally go flying." Klaus looked to his brother, both knowing she was a witch because of their mother. "And she heals like you wouldn't believe, she's the only five year old that's never had a bruise or scrape-"

"Is she upset often?" Klaus asked now, seeming genuinely concerned, which Kelly could see. He noticed something on her arm now, with Kelly immediately tugging her sleeve down over her wrist; they were bruises.

"Things aren't easy in our house Nik," she admitted, crossing her arms over herself, avoiding looking at him.

"Your husband?" Elijah questioned; Kelly nodded.

"Jade's step dad," Klaus said, angry though not at Kelly. It was a little too much like his life for his liking.

"I'm not a bad mom Nik," Kelly told him, her eyes welling up. "But, I have two other kids," she said, wiping at her eyes. "We don't have anywhere else to go."

"You do," Klaus told her now. Elijah was seeing something different in his brother, something he hadn't seen for so long. There was a warmth about him, him wanting to comfort Kelly like he often comforted a scared Rebekah when they were children. "Is he home?"

"Now," Kelly nodded. "But, he's got the night shift later. But, I couldn't-"

"Pack your things after you're done here," Klaus stopped her. "We'll get you and your kids out of this place."

* * *

"Do you think this is what has been bothering you this whole time?" Elijah was asking that evening as they made their way towards Kelly's home. They hadn't spoken very much since they had left Kelly aside from making their plans on where to take her and her three kids.

"After we discovered...mother's secret," Klaus settled on the term as he drove, referring to the night he activated his curse and everyone found out he wasn't really Mikael's son. "...I never meant to kill her," Klaus continued for his brother. "I only meant to confront her, about keeping me from my real father all that time." Elijah nodded, knowing how Mikael had treated him his whole life. "She told me that he came for me, that he could sense me when I was young." He shook his head. "She killed him to keep her secret."

"You never told me that," Elijah said quietly though he understood why his brother never said anything.

"I don't know if I'll be a good father," Klaus admitted as they turned down the right street. "Or if I should even stay after this." He shook his head. "But, no child of mine is going to live like this."

"No child should," Elijah said, looking over to his brother as the car stopped.

Klaus didn't return his glance, nodding at the house; there was Kelly's car, but also a truck they assumed belonged to her husband. No sooner had they parked the car did they hear screaming. They took off for the house, able to make out the yelling. Kelly's husband must have found her bags because he was asking where she thought she was going. Klaus kicked the door in, though neither of them could enter without invitation. Her husband, Matt senior, had her by her arms and had been screaming in her face though stopping suddenly at the splintering door.

"Rescue party?" he scoffed, looking at the two of them. Kelly wondered why they weren't coming in and she wondered if it had to do with what they were. Though he had never met Klaus, there was something Matt senior recognized about him, some features. "Oh," he laughed now, looking at Kelly. "Did you call Jade's dad?" He was mocking her, grabbing his drink now off the coffee table and finishing it before motioning at the stairs. "If you want that little brat, be my guest to go take her."

That was enough invitation for Klaus as he went speeding into the house. He didn't see Kelly's husband though as he grabbed him and sped into the next room; he saw Mikael. He heard Kelly calling for Elijah to invite him in. In his rage it didn't take him long to bring an end to Kelly and her children's torment. Standing in the kitchen now he could hear Kelly scrambling upstairs to where her kids had been hiding. He felt Elijah appear next to him, handing him something to clean himself up.

He knew that this was going to be the part he was good at, the part where he took care of Kelly's abuser. While he had been pulled here all this time though he wasn't sure he should be the one to be around Jade. Part of him wondered if he shouldn't just leave Kelly with the means to take care of herself and her kids before taking off and never returning.

"You need to see her at least once," Elijah said as though he could read his brother's mind. Nodding in agreement, Klaus made his way for the stairs, following the sound of Kelly's voice.

"Oh my brave girl," Kelly was telling Jade as she knelt down to her. Klaus stood in the doorway and saw what she had done. She had hid in the closet, but not before leading her little sister in there and pushing her brother's baby seat in there to hide him too. "You did so good," Kelly was promising her, wiping tears off her daughter's face.

"Mommy," Jade was still crying.

"We don't have to be scared anymore baby," Kelly was promising her. She didn't know what was next, but she knew her children weren't going to be hiding in closets anymore.

"Who's that?" Jade asked as she looked past her mom now to the doorway.

"Come here," Kelly was motioning for Klaus and he came closer, kneeling next to Kelly. "Honey," she smiled softly, taking her daughter's hand and kissing the back of it. "This is your dad." She looked at Klaus now. "Nik, this is-" But she stopped as Jade already threw her arms around her dad, him cautiously hugging her back. "This is Jade," she finished, resting her hand on his back. "Your daughter."

And whatever doubts he had before, he knew just from holding her that his only place was to be with her.

 **thanks for checking it out! i really hope you liked it, please let me know what you thought! i'll be trying to keep this in order as much as i can, again it's just going to be some one shots based off lines from the original story. thanks!**


	2. Better Days

**thanks so much for following, favoriting, and reviewing! :) really hope you like this next snap shot, it happens to take place right after chapter one...**

 ** _Better Days_**

 _"I didn't protect you from your step father." - Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

 _1992_

"So," Kelly said, climbing into Klaus's car to sit early the next morning.

His and Elijah's plan to leave with them the night before hadn't worked out as the police had been called by one of the neighbors who had heard all the screaming. The sheriff showed up and the truth came out, with many on the council having been fed stories about the originals from previous generations. He and Elijah had stayed to work things out with them, sending Kelly and her children to stay with one of her friends from high school for the night. Leaving Elijah to finalize the details he had pulled up in front of the Gilbert house to pick Kelly and the kids up, but she came out alone. He figured as much, since he wasn't exactly sure what was next. And, while he wanted to be there for Jade, he wasn't sure what Kelly thought now that the dust had settled.

"So," Klaus said, sighing a little.

"How is this going to work?" Kelly asked quickly, turning to him.

"You want this to work?" he asked with a soft smile.

"I want Jade to have her dad," she told him, though she paused, her eyes serious. "But, so help me-"

"I'd never hurt her," Klaus assured her. "Or you."

"I won't invite something like _that_ ," she said, referring to her husband. "Back into their lives."

"You and you children are safe," he assured her. Now that he knew she wanted things to work, he had another surprise for her. He started the car now, heading down the street a little. "And," he continued. "After spending hours with the council," he said with a bit of an eye roll; Kelly couldn't help but crack a small smile. "You're all able to stay here, for as long as you want."

"You're serious?" Kelly asked, her smile bigger. While she wanted out of that house she never wanted to leave Mystic Falls. It was where she grew up, where her friends were, where she wanted to raise her kids. With the higher ups in the town now knowing about Jade and her father though she wasn't sure it was going to be an option.

"Basically," Klaus said, parking the car now; they had barely gone two blocks. "My family keeps this town vampire free and..." He shrugged. "We all go about our business."

"That's it?" Kelly asked and he hesitated. "Nik."

"Jade is going to..." He struggled for the right term. "She's going to have to be careful."

"Careful?" Kelly asked with raised eye brows. "Nik, what is our daughter?"

"We should talk about this inside," Klaus told her, getting out of the car.

"Inside?!" Kelly called, getting out now as well and following him up the front steps. "Inside where?"

"Your new home," he told her with a smile and her jaw actually dropped. He pushed the door open. "You're, um, going to have to invite me in," he said with a laugh.

"I," she said as she went inside, inviting him in; the inviting in rule was something she learned. "I can't afford this Nik."

"Maybe not," he agreed with her, watching her look around at all the room. "But, ah, Jade's recently deceased grandmother Esther could."

"Recently?" Kelly asked sarcastically.

"Feels like yesterday," he smirked at her and she playfully rolled her eyes; she quickly became serious though.

"What is our daughter Nik?" she repeated.

"Primarily?" he asked and she motioned for him to continue. "She's a witch, like my mother."

"Mmm," Kelly nodded, taking it in; she wasn't sure how to take that. "Hence the, ah," she motioned around.

"When things go flying around, yeah," Klaus finished for her. "That's her magic." He nodded at the door. "I'm going to call my older sister, Freya, she-"

"She's a witch?" Kelly asked and he nodded. "She's not..." She wasn't sure how to word it. "Like you?"

"How my sister came back to the family is a bit complicated, but yes," Klaus told her. "She's not like me." He shook his head. "None of my siblings really are."

"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.

"My mother was a witch," Klaus explained to her. "A very powerful one." He motioned to himself. "My siblings and I, we're the first of our kind."

"The first vampires, how old are you?" Kelly asked quickly.

"Nearly a thousand," he obliged her.

"Ah," Kelly nodded. She figured he would always look this way, always stay the same while she would eventually get older.

"I'm not going to lie to you Kelly," he told her. "I know you know what I am, I know." He sighed. "I know you saw what I did last night." She nodded. "And I'm sure you can assume that's not the first time I-"

"What's your point?" she stopped him. She didn't want to dwell on this.

"The first time _that_ happened," he continued to explain. "Was the first time we realized that I'm different from my brothers and sisters." He motioned to himself. "I have a different father."

"How would you-"

"Werewolves trigger their curse when they kill someone," Klaus stopped her. "My real father was a werewolf, because of my mother's magic I'm a hybrid. And Jade-"

"Is both of those and a witch," Kelly finished for him and he nodded. "Then," she said, hesitating a little. "I'm, um." She laughed. "I'm glad you're here then, because no way I could deal with this just me."

* * *

"You're taking all of this fairly well," Elijah commented that evening. They had spent most of the day getting the house in order, the children coming home that evening. It wasn't long before it was time for bed and Kelly was grateful that all three kids went down without much struggle or fuss. That was until Jade woke up with a nightmare, with Klaus going upstairs to check on her and leaving his brother alone with Kelly.

"The truth?" Kelly asked lightly, taking a sip from her wine glass; Elijah nodded for her to continue. "There are monsters out there scarier than you," she said softly.

"Unfortunately, our family has some experience with those demons as well," Elijah told her. Kelly had figured with the way Klaus seemed so disgusted that it was Jade's step father causing them so much torment. "You're in good hands now," he assured her.

"Seems like it," she smiled a little; she noticed him pulling an envelope from his jacket. "What's that?" she asked curiously.

"My brother has his way of helping," Elijah commented, passing the envelope to her. "I have mine." She looked at him in confusion, not looking in the envelope yet.

"You've already done so much for us," Kelly said like she couldn't accept whatever it was. She figured, if anything, it was money; but with the house taken care of and Klaus planning to stay, Kelly was sure the bills weren't going to be as tight as they had been.

"Just open it," Elijah insisted and Kelly's mouth dropped when she opened it to see what it was. It was an acceptance letter for the spring semester at Whitmore College the next town over. It was where she had been going to school before she had to drop out when she found out she was pregnant with Jade. "I remembered when you were in Chicago you were on break from school with your friends," he started to explain.

"I can't," Kelly started to insist.

"You can," he assured her. "This family takes care of each other, and you are now a very important member of this family."

"Thank you," Kelly told him, blinking the tears out of her eyes.

* * *

"Jade, are you ok?" Klaus asked as he entered her room to check on her, turning on the beside light. The little girl was propped up on her pillows, wide awake and looking around.

"Is he here?" she asked, looking around.

"Who?" he asked as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"Step-Matt," Jade told him. Kelly had always thought that it was cute how Jade came up to differentiate between her stepfather and her baby brother since they had the same name; he had just found it annoying.

"No," he quickly promised her.

He and Kelly had agreed earlier that they wouldn't ever tell her kids what he had done to Matt senior. They didn't want them to be afraid of him, plus the other kids may end up resenting Jade because her father killed theirs. No, instead they would just tell them that he walked out and wasn't coming back. It was certainly believable and was what they were telling those in town that weren't on the council.

"No, you don't ever have to worry about that again," Klaus continued.

"Are you sure?" she asked, squeezing her stuffed animal she slept with tight.

"Positive," Klaus assured her with a smile. "Who's this?" he asked, motioning to her stuffed toy. He had never had much experience with children so he was surprised at how easily he was interacting with her.

"Wolfie," she told him, showing it to him; he smiled thinking about how he had always wondered about the wolves as a child and now she seemed drawn to pick a wolf as her favorite stuffed animal.

"I see," he nodded. "Does Wolfie keep you safe?" She nodded.

"He chases away bad dreams," Jade told him seriously.

"Well then, I like him," Klaus told her and she smiled. "I hope he knows though there's not going to be anymore bad dreams. Not while I'm here, ok?"

"Where were you?" Jade asked innocently. She had no mean intent asking, she had just always wondered where her dad had been while Vicki and Matt got to have theirs.

"I...didn't know," Klaus told her honestly, though cautiously. After all, how much of this could you explain to a five year old? "But, now that I know you, I'm never going anywhere. I promise." She seemed satisfied with that answer, though Klaus knew from the look in her eye that more questions were coming. He heard Kelly out in the hall, leaning against the wall by the door to listen.

"Why aren't you and my mommy married?" she asked now. All her friends moms and dads were married; Kelly had been married to Vicki and Matt's dad.

"Your mommy is too good to be married to me," Klaus told her.

"Do you love her?" Jade asked.

"I care about your mommy a lot," Klaus said, careful not to say love quite yet. He would always have a great deal of care and afffection for Kelly as the mother of his child, but to be in love with her wasn't ever likely to happen. "Because she gave me you, who I love very much." Jade nodded, though she continued to look serious. Klaus wondered how someone so small could be so serious.

"Why do I throw things?" Jade asked him, referring to how things in her room went flying about when she got upset.

"Um," Klaus wasn't sure what to say, looking to the door where he caught Kelly's eye; she nodded for him that it was ok. "Well, you're very special Jade."

"I am?" she asked, unsure.

"Mhmm," he nodded. With there only being one person like her he wasn't sure how to explain to her exactly what she was. "You're able to do magic sweetheart."

"I am?" she asked with wide eyes and he nodded. "How?"

"Well," Klaus said, searching for the words. "My mom could do magic, because she was a witch." Jade frowned.

"Witches are bad," Jade told him.

"Some are," he nodded in agreement with her, remembering specifically his mother and Aunt Dahlia. "But, some are good too." Jade didn't seem so sure. "Tell you what," he started off. "You know how you're a big sister?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Well, I have a big sister," he told her. "Her name is Freya and she knows how to do magic too. And she is a very, very good witch." He smiled at her. "I could have her come teach you, if that's ok?"

"Really?" Jade asked excitedly and he nodded. "Ok," she agreed with him, settling back into bed. "Do you have lots of brothers and sisters?"

"Well, there is your Aunt Freya, your Uncle Elijah," he told her, with her only having met Elijah today. "And when your Aunt Freya gets here I'm sure she'll bring your Aunt Rebekah with her."

He was careful not to mention Finn, unable to explain that situation to her. Knowing about Jade now though meant he wasn't going to be waking his brother anytime soon, if at all, in order to keep her safe. With his strained relationship with Kol he wasn't sure he was going to mention her to him either; it wasn't that he thought Kol would hurt her, but he really just didn't even know how to talk to him.

"Ok," Jade nodded, seeming sleepy now.

"Get some sleep," Klaus told her, getting up now and kissing her head.

"I love you daddy," she told him, settling into bed with Wolfie.

"I love you too," he told her, turning off the light.

 **thanks for reading! i hope you liked it, please let me know what you thought! the next one is going to take place when jade is a little older, maybe 10, and starts asking about marcel.**

 **let me know what you think! :)**

 **this is going to be very different than "look after you" just to give you a preview ;) marcel is going to be around from when she's a kid too, there's not going to be a love triangle (and a completely different love interest) and cami is going to be in this story :)**


	3. Who Are You

**thanks so much for following, favoriting, and reviewing! :) really hope you like this next snap shot, where jade is a little older...**

 ** _Who Are You_**

 _"Wish I would have known about you sooner." - Marcel, Chapter 31, Look After You_

 _1997_

"Where are you going?" Kelly was asking Klaus that afternoon as he came downstairs, bag in hand.

He had gotten a call from Marcel asking him to come to New Orleans, needing help with an unexplained situation with the werewolves. He thought that his mentor would be the best person to ask for help since he was a hybrid. He had been to New Orleans a few times since his family had fled from Mikael, though Kelly had a pretty strict rule about Jade not being allowed to go. While she was all right with what Jade was and having his family around she wanted Jade to have as normal of an upbringing as possible. Klaus didn't disagree, so for now, she stayed away from New Orleans.

"What's she doing home?" Klaus asked now. He had been talking to Marcel when the school called Kelly to come get Jade and had been packing when they got to the house so he hadn't known something was going on.

"Show him," Kelly nodded at him from where she stood in the living room, their ten year old daughter sitting on the couch.

"Mom," Jade complained and her mom got that look in her eye that she wasn't kidding. Sighing, Jade rolled up her sleeves, revealing that she wasn't wearing her bracelet. While she and Freya had come a long way in learning to control her magic, Jade was still too young to control it entirely so Freya made her a bracelet that would suppress her magic. One of the other rules was that she had to keep her bracelet on at all times except at home.

"Jade, we've been over this," Klaus said in exasperation.

"It feels weird," Jade told him, the bracelet making her feel stifled.

"I know sweetheart, but if you're going to go to school," he reiterated. "You're going to have to wear it. End of story."

"It wasn't even that bad," Jade protested about the outburst.

"Not that bad?" Kelly scoffed at her before turning to Klaus. "Katie Forbes' lunch tray flipped up and smacked her in the face."

"Maybe she's just clumsy," Jade muttered under her breath.

"Her nose is broken," Kelly told her sternly. "She's the sheriff's niece Jade, and we're lucky we get to stay here in the first place."

"Yeah, but Katie-" Jade started to argue. Katie was one of the meanest girls in school and she had recently picked a new target.

"I don't care what Katie did," Kelly stopped her. "Principal Fell told me we have one more shot," she held up a single finger. "Next time it won't be a suspension Jade, you'll be expelled."

"Dad," Jade protested now, her dad usually a little bit more lenient with her and letting her get her way a lot. At that moment her Uncle Elijah was there to get her dad so they could go to New Orleans. "Where are you going?"

"I have to take a trip with your uncle," Klaus told her vaguely. Talking about New Orleans was bound to start another fight. "You listen to your mother and I'll be back in a few days."

"You're going to New Orleans," Jade realized; whenever her dad was vague she knew where he was going. After all, if he was going to Chicago to see Freya or New York to see Rebekah he told her and often invited her. "Can I go?"

"Jade," Kelly groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"I'm already suspended," Jade argued like she wouldn't be missing school.

"All the more reason I should reward you then," Kelly said sarcastically, looking to Klaus for back up. They got along pretty well, but their big problem between them was that Kelly was often left to be the bad guy.

"Jade," Klaus said seriously, sitting on the couch with her. "Why do you wear your bracelet?"

"Safety," she muttered, getting this run down before.

"Why do you have the name Donovan?" he asked. That was often a hot button issue with Jade as she was old enough to remember her step-father.

"Safety," she grumbled.

"So, why don't we go to New Orleans right now?" Klaus asked.

"I just want to meet Marcel," Jade argued rather than give another pathetic attempt at the word safety. "He's my brother."

"You'll get to meet Marcel one day," Klaus assured her, getting up and kissing her head. "But not today."

"Dad!" Jade shouted as he left.

"Be good for your mother!" Klaus called back, his brother following him out the door.

* * *

Jade went up to her room after her mom made sure her bracelet was put on, pouting on her bed. She didn't think it was fair that she had to always hide who she was. More than anything she wanted to go to New Orleans. While there was no one exactly like her there were plenty of supernatural beings in New Orleans; werewolves, witches, vampires. In Mystic Falls there was just a handful of werewolves, the Lockwoods, but they all kept their identities super secret. Figuring she couldn't possibly get into more trouble she slipped her bracelet off again, reaching for the notebook she kept under her bed; she wasn't allowed to keep her aunt or grandmother's grimoires but she often scribbled down copies when her aunt wasn't paying attention. Laying down and closing her eyes, she began the spell.

Jade's eyes opened and she smiled to herself, her astral projection spell working. She had projected herself to wherever her dad was and was surprised to find that they weren't in the city but what looked like the swamp. She didn't spot her dad or uncle anywhere, just kinda looking around. There were a few people scattered about, talking among themselves, not really noticing her. The more she walked around, the more she realized something was really wrong; there were bodies, covered by sheets, looking like there had been an attack.

What Jade didn't know was what had been going on in New Orleans or why Marcel had called her dad. There was always strain between the wolves and the vampires, though these days that was bubbling over as the wolves were trying to take over more of the French Quarter. Not only was there fighting between the vampires and wolves but there was fighting between the wolves as well. Marcel needed it stopped before anyone else got hurt.

"Who are you?" she heard a young voice challenging her. She turned to see three boys about her age standing there, two with dark hair and one blonde; the blonde seemed to be the one who had spoken.

"Jade?!" she heard her father behind her, whipping around and seeing him there; she heard the boys running away. His startling her threw her off, breaking her concentration and thus the spell, her projection vanishing from the bayou.

"...who was that?" Marcel was asking beside him. Klaus sighed, unable to hide it anymore.

"Your sister," he answered, keeping his voice low.

"My _what_?" Marcel asked with raised eye brows. Klaus motioned for him to stay quiet so the others wouldn't hear.

"I've been trying to keep her safe," Klaus murmured, motioning for Marcel to follow. "She's a bit stubborn though-"

"Wonder where she got that from," Marcel smirked at him and Klaus gave him a look.

"Must be the werewolf gene," Klaus quipped. "Seeing as we got no where with this group."

"Werewolf gene?" Marcel questioned, not commenting on their lack of success with the wolves. He figured it had been worth a shot since he had already detailed the next step to Klaus before they got to the bayou which involved the witches; he had one on his side, Brynne Deveraux, who was ready to place a curse on the wolves if necessary. The way Marcel saw it, it was the only way to keep the wolves from hurting anyone else.

"I thought she was just a witch," Marcel continued. He had figured that this little girl had been adopted like him.

"She's both," Klaus told him cautiously and Marcel looked confused. "Because she really is mine."

"How?" Marcel asked in confusion. "When? I-"

"She's ten," Klaus told him though that wasn't going to satisfy all of his questions. "Would you like to meet her?"

* * *

"I'm going to kill your sister," Kelly was arguing with Klaus the next morning. Jade could hear them from her room, her mom catching her shortly after her dad saw her in the bayou.

"To be fair, I don't think she taught her how to do that," Klaus said lightly and Kelly rolled her eyes at him.

"We had an agreement," Kelly started off.

"And how's that working out for us?" Klaus asked and Kelly sighed. After that Jade couldn't hear anymore as her parents got even more quiet; it was killing her, the waiting. That's when she heard someone on the stairs, two someones actually. Her dad was the only one to come into her room though, shutting the door and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"That was some serious magic you performed yesterday," Klaus told her.

"I just wanted-"

"I know, I know," Klaus stopped her, smiling slightly. "You do know why your mother and I make the rules that we do, right?" Jade nodded silently. "We just want to protect you Jade. And until you're older, until you're stronger and in more control, we're going to have to keep some rules in place."

"Just some?" Jade asked, picking up on her father's tone.

"The bracelet stays on," Klaus started off and she nodded. "No more projecting and no trips to New Orleans."

"Ok," Jade nodded though she wondered what was changing then.

"And, you're still in trouble," Klaus informed her. "For the incident at school, not to mention the magic-"

"Dad," Jade said in exasperation. She got all of that. He smiled, getting up and heading to the door, nodding for someone to come in.

"Just because you can't come to New Orleans, doesn't mean some of New Orleans can't come here," Klaus told her. "Jade, this is your brother Marcel."

"Hey Jade," Marcel greeted her, sitting where Klaus had been sitting. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Jade nodded, her smile big.

"I'm surprised though, shouldn't you be in school?" Marcel asked.

"I got suspended," Jade told him, looking at her dad first then back at him. "I broke this girl Katie's nose."

"She deserve it?" Marcel asked.

"Marcel," Klaus said seriously.

"I'm her brother not her dad," Marcel smirked at him.

"She kept picking on Vicki," Jade said of her six year old sister; neither Klaus or Kelly knew that detail as they had never let Jade give her side of the story.

"Katie sounds like a bully," Marcel commented and Jade nodded. "You're a good girl Jade," he smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"She's the best," Klaus agreed, leaving the room to give the two of them some time to get to know one another, happy Jade had her older brother now.

 **thanks for reading! :) please let me know what you thought! the next chapter is going to be about how the other kids lives changed with klaus being around for jade**

 **i'm working on the next update of "look after you" just getting a little stuck. more on that soon!**


	4. Humans Being

**thanks to those who reviewed the last update! would love to hear from more of you on this one! :) this one has two mini parts, i hope you like them!**

 _"Jade, if I knew about you, I would have come. I would have taken you away from there," Klaus said._

 _"And Vicki and Matty?" Jade asked lightly._

 _"And Vicki and Matt," he agreed. Klaus and Jade, Look After You, Chapter 24_

 _ **Humans Being**_

 _2001_

"You're going to stay up till Jade comes home huh?" nine year old Matt commented from where he sat at the kitchen table, across from Klaus that night.

Klaus didn't know when he went from being Kelly's co-parent to Kelly's babysitter, but he guessed he was just in a mood since she told fourteen year old Jade she could go to the Valentine's Day dance at the school that night. Kelly was out on a date too, with Vicki off to a friend's house for a sleepover; it was Saturday and Monday was Valentine's Day.

"Speaking of staying up late," Klaus nodded at him.

"I won't tell mom you were _hovering_ ," Matt said with air quotes, using Kelly's term.

"You drive a hard bargain young man," Klaus smiled at him, really observing what he was doing now; he was sorting through boxes of brightly colored store bought valentines. "What are you doing?"

"Valentines for school," Matt answered, not looking up from sorting, carefully looking. "I'm trying to find a good one for Elena."

"The girl Vicki has been teasing you about?" he asked, though he knew the Gilberts; Elena's mom was best friends with Kelly.

"Vicki's so annoying," Matt muttered, pushing another box to the side.

"Hold on," Klaus told him, getting up from the table, Matt looking at him curiously.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked, watching him gather some things where his mom kept the craft supplies for school projects.

"You like this girl," Klaus stated, setting the construction paper and markers out. "Which means she's special." He took the two boxes of store bought cards away. "You can't give her the same card you give the rest of your classmates."

"I guess not," Matt hesitantly agreed. "But...I don't know what to draw."

"Just about anything would be all right," Klaus assured him. "The fact that you made it is going to be what's special."

"That's what my mom says," Matt said with a face.

"And your mom is..." Klaus said, hinting that she would be the one to know what she was talking about.

"The one with a date tonight?" Matt offered.

"I was going to say a girl," Klaus said with a small smile. "But, you're also right about that." He handed him a marker. "Either way she knows what she's talking about."

"I guess so," Matt agree with him, taking the marker and starting on his card.

"I'm home!" Jade called, letting herself into the house.

"In here!" Matt called back, though his concentration on his card was hardly broken.

"Hey Matty," she said, ruffling his hair as she walked by him. "Hi dad," she greeted him, kissing his cheek as she passed by to get something from the refrigerator.

"Did your date at least walk you to the door?" Klaus asked her.

"If you listened to mom earlier, I didn't have a date," she smiled sweetly at him. "I went with friends." She nodded at her brother. "Looks like someone else has a valentine though."

"Shut up Jade," Matt muttered.

"Is that for Elllenaaaa," Jade teased, putting her arms around her brothers shoulders, kissing his cheek dramatically.

"Jaaaade," Matt complained.

"Jade," her dad said seriously.

"Off your brother," Kelly told her as she entered the kitchen and Jade playfully rolled her eyes as she let her brother go.

"Did your date walk you to the door?" Jade asked her, picking on her dad from earlier.

"Ah, he did," Kelly smirked at her, following her daughter's pattern of going to the refrigerator. "But, you two, it's late."

"Mom," Matt complained.

"You can finish your valentine tomorrow," Kelly said, nodding at the stairs. "Bed."

"C'mon kiddo," Jade nodded, leading him out of the kitchen.

"Did you have a nice night?" Klaus asked Kelly as she sat with him at the table.

"I did," she smiled at him. "Thank you, for watching Matt tonight."

"No trouble," he nodded.

"I know things haven't been easy," she continued. "Since you've had to step back a little." Things were easier when Jade was younger, it was easier for him to be around as her dad while keeping who he really was a secret. As she got older though and he continued to look the same he wasn't able to be out as much, taking more of a sidelines role.

"I've at least got art to occupy my time," Klaus told her, handing her Matt's valentine to look at.

"Aw," Kelly said, smiling a little as she set it back down. "Thank you." She shook her head. "Not that I imagine his dad would have been any good at this, but I'm glad he has you for this." She shrugged. "He doesn't really want to talk girls with me or his sisters."

"I imagine that has something to do with Jade singing _Matt and Elena sitting in a tree_ upstairs right now," Klaus told her able to hear what Kelly wasn't.

"Jade!" Kelly called up the stairs.

* * *

 _2006_

 _"Dad,"_ Jade was saying frantically as her dad answered his phone. She had sent her mom away for the weekend for the first time in a long time, off with some of her girlfriends for some much deserved time off. Naturally, on her watch, Vicki had gone missing.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Klaus asked worriedly. He had been planning on coming back to town to visit his nineteen year old, knowing she had a long weekend off from school. He was just on the outskirts when he got her call.

 _"It's Vicki, I have no idea where she went,"_ she said of her fifteen year old sister. Her sister had been butting heads with her a lot in the last year and Jade wasn't really sure why other than maybe because she was a teenager or maybe because Jade was going off to Whitmore. Either way, they hadn't been as in sync lately, with Vicki taking off after an argument they had that evening.

 _"We got in this fight, I don't even remember why,"_ Jade was rushing through. _"She's not at the grille, she's not at Sarah's house-"_

"Jade, slow down," Klaus told her. "Where are you?"

 _"Dragging Matt all over the neighborhood,"_ Jade informed him.

"Take him home, it's late," Klaus said and she started to protest. "I'll go track down your sister, ok? Just go home in case she comes back there. All right?"

Jade agreed, taking Matt home while her dad went off to find Vicki. He had noticed her increasingly angst filled behavior these days as did Kelly. She had brought it up a couple times but neither of them knew what to do for her. After all, while Jade had her moments as a teenager, she wasn't ever like this. Whatever was bothering her she wasn't talking about so they just had to wait her out.

Finally catching Vicki's trail Klaus followed it through the woods, finding a small gathering near the old cemetery. He shooed most people away without much effort, most taking off easily. It didn't make him feel very good that most of these people were drunk or high, around Jade's age. That's when he spotted someone with Vicki; he grabbed the guy and fought him away, mostly scaring him off with the fact that Vicki was only fifteen. Spotting a prescription bottle on the ground he picked it up, the label reading percocet.

"Vicki," Klaus said, kneeling next to her as she sat on the ground. "Vicki, love, look at me." She looked at him in a daze. "How many of these did you take?"

"I dunno," she muttered, waving him off, her eyes fluttering.

"Ah, ah," Klaus said, getting her to focus on him again. "No, stay up with me." He was going to feed her his blood to heal her, to keep her from overdosing. "Drink this."

"No," she said, shoving his hand away.

"It's this or the hospital Vicki," he told her seriously. "Who will call your mother," he tacked on, though he fully intended to fill Kelly in on what was going on. That line seemed to work though as Vicki accepted the blood, her high fading a little. "What in the world were you thinking?" he asked her seriously.

"Don't pretend to care," Vicki said, getting to her feet. "You're not my dad."

"What is going on with you?" Klaus demanded, getting up and stopping her from leaving.

"Nothing!" Vicki argued.

"You've been fighting with your mother and sister," Klaus informed her. "The school called your mother a few weeks ago about your grades." She crossed her arms over herself. "And now this?"

"Please just stop!" Vicki snapped.

"Stop what?" Klaus asked in confusion.

"Acting like you care about me," Vicki told him.

"I do care about you Vicki," he told her seriously.

"Right," Vicki said sarcastically. "You care about me when my own dad doesn't."

"Vicki," Klaus sighed. "Is that what this is about?"

"Don't make it sound like some little thing!" Vicki argued.

"I'm not," Klaus said, knowing she was still coming down from her high.

"You came back for Jade," she continued angrily, though her eyes were brimming with tears. "You found out about her and you showed up." She was crying now. "Why didn't my dad stay?"

"Oh sweetheart," Klaus sighed sadly.

"Why didn't he come back or call or anything?" Vicki asked. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"No," Klaus promised. "No, there's nothing wrong with you."

"Then why don't I get my dad?" Vicki asked, her eyes still full of tears.

"Your dad," Klaus started off, not sure what or how to tell her. After all, not even Jade knew what really happened to her stepfather. And Vicki already seemed resentful towards Jade for even having her dad around in the first place. "Sweetheart, your dad doesn't deserve to know you."

"You don't have to lie to me," Vicki scoffed at him. "Look at me," she motioned around, the bottles of alcohol and small pill bottles everywhere. She took her dizzy head in her hands. "No wonder he isn't around."

"Vicki, look at me," he said gently.

"Did you even know my dad?" Vicki asked now; he nodded. "Do you know why he left?"

"I met your father one time," Klaus told her honestly. "The first time I ever saw him, he had your mother like this," he said, taking her arms though gently and not with the intent to hurt her. "And he was screaming in her face." He let her go. "Your sister hid you and your baby brother in a closet because she was so afraid of him. So, believe me when I tell you that he doesn't deserve to get to know you."

"Mom didn't tell me that," Vicki said, wiping at her eyes.

"Your mother wanted to protect you," he told her.

"I'm so screwed up," Vicki admitted, her eyes welling up again.

"Listen to me," Klaus said, taking her face in his hands. "You're so much better than your father, and you are far better than this. Ok?"

"Ok," she nodded in agreement as he let her go.

"Ok you believe me, or ok so we can get out of here?" he asked.

"More the second one," Vicki admitted and he nodded.

"Just promise you won't come out here or do this again," Klaus said.

"Ok," she nodded in agreement. "Promise."

"Come here," he said, hugging her now. "Let's get you home."

 **thanks for reading! i really hope you liked it! please let me know what you thought! :)**


	5. In My Life

**thanks for reviewing! :) so glad you liked the last update! this one is going to have more klaus/jade since the last one was mostly about her siblings but will also feature one of her aunts!**

 ** _In My Life_**

 _"I didn't play mediator between you and your mom when you were a teenager," - Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

 _2004_

"I wouldn't," twelve year old Matt warned Klaus from the front porch where he had moved to do his homework that evening. Klaus could already hear the screaming match inside raging between Kelly and their seventeen year old. Since around the time she was fourteen these episodes started picking up. It had nothing to do with what she was, other than the fact that she was a teenager.

"Thanks for the warning," Klaus told him before heading inside, figuring the fight was coming from the kitchen and heading in that direction.

"You are being so unfair!" Jade was shouting at her mom as her dad was coming into the room. "Dad, tell mom to let me go to this party."

"N,n,n,n,no," Kelly went before Klaus could even open his mouth. "You're not bringing your father into this."

"Why?" Jade asked defiantly, crossing her arms over herself. "Because he always takes my side because I'm right?"

"What is going on?" Klaus asked, already exhausted. Refereeing between Kelly and Jade could certainly take it's toll.

"I want to go to the back to school party tonight," Jade told her dad. "Mom won't let me go because there's going to be drinking, like there's not drinking at every-"

"You're not really selling me Jade," Klaus stopped her and Jade stopped talking. He looked to Kelly who nodded for him to keep going. "What's the harm if you miss this one party?"

" _Everyone_ is going to be there dad," Jade complained. "All my friends are going, and I'm a senior this year-"

"And Eric is coming home for the first weekend of the semester," Kelly cut her off.

"Mom," Jade argued, barely noticing Vicki coming into the kitchen to get something. Neither of her parents were fond of her boyfriend, mainly because he was older than her at twenty. Jade liked him because he at least knew who she was and she didn't have to hide since he was from one of the founding families as a Fell.

"You know I don't like you seeing him Jade," Klaus told her seriously.

"You don't like me _seeing_ anyone," Jade said back with air quotes. "I like him, ok? And I don't have to pretend I'm not some freak-"

"You're not a freak Jade," Kelly cut her off. "But he's too old for you."

"Are you _actually_ going to lecture me about dating an older guy?" Jade asked her, motioning to her father, looking to him now to say something; Kelly was giving him a similar look.

"She isn't wrong," Klaus told Kelly quietly though Jade could obviously hear.

"I wasn't a teenager though," Kelly was saying now.

"Would it make either of you feel better that Jade's on the pill?" thirteen year old Vicki chimed in, ratting out her sister's big secret.

"VICKI!" Jade screamed, both angry and horrified.

"Oh my God," she heard her dad muttering to himself, rubbing his forehead.

"Vicki, out," Kelly was telling her sister and Vicki took off. "Jade, upstairs."

"Mom," Jade protested.

"I need to talk to your dad," Kelly said.

"You're not going to be mad at me for being careful are-"

"Listen to your mom Jade," Klaus stopped her now and Jade pushed her way out of the room.

 _"UGH I HATE THIS HOUSE!"_ Jade screamed as she stomped upstairs.

"How did she even-" Kelly was starting off.

 _"WHEN I TURN EIGHTEEN!"_ Jade continued to shout, slamming her door shut. _"I'M LEAVING AND I'M LIVING WITH MARCEL AND YOU TWO CAN'T STOP ME!"_

"Certainly has a flair for the dramatic," Klaus said lightly though this was the closest to sick he felt in awhile. Yes, Jade was going to grow up. And yes, she was going to date boys. He certainly realized what all that was going to eventually mean, but now? It snuck up on him too fast.

"Well, she didn't get it from me," Kelly muttered to herself.

"The flair for the dramatic or the pills?" Klaus asked.

"Does this look like the face of a mom that knew her daughter was on birth control?" Kelly asked him sarcastically and he made a face at the term _birth control_. "Oh grow up," she snapped at him and he looked like he just had a thought. "What?"

"Who do you think she got being dramatic from?" Klaus asked and Kelly rolled her eyes.

"Your side?" she shrugged. "I don't know, if I had to guess..." She realized what he was hinting at. "Rebekah was here a few weeks ago."

"Mhmm," Klaus nodded.

* * *

 _"Slow down sweetheart,"_ Rebekah was saying on the phone; Jade had called her, all kinds of upset. She was furious with her sister, not just for ratting her out but for snooping as well. She never could have asked her mom for the pills and there was no way she could talk to her dad about this. _"Just tell me what happened love,"_ she said once she heard Jade was calm.

"Vicki must have been going through my make up bag," Jade said, sinking against her pillows. "She found my pills and told my parents."

 _"...ok,"_ Rebekah said, letting out a breath. She was sure she was in for an earful from her brother as well as Kelly.

"I'm sorry," Jade blurted out quickly. "I should have just done it myself, mom and dad are so mad-"

 _"Sweetheart, you did the right thing,"_ Rebekah stopped her, reassuring her. _"And, I'm very glad you came to me. Ok?"_

"But dad-"

 _"Will get over it,"_ Rebekah promised. _"Trust me Jade, you are the best thing that has ever happened to him, to this family."_ It was true. In the days before Jade Rebekah could have considered herself locked in a box; fatherhood had a way of quelling his temper though. She heard her phone beeping with another call. _"Jade, I'll talk to your dad all right? He's calling me right now."_

"Ok," Jade agreed as she hung up.

 _"Hello,"_ Rebekah answered cheerfully, though she knew what was coming.

"What were you thinking?" Klaus asked her, Kelly in the kitchen with him still.

 _"That you didn't want to be a grandfather at your age,"_ Rebekah quipped, getting right to the point; she could practically see his eye roll. _"Like it or not Nik, she is growing up."_

"Bekah."

 _"Look, I'm glad she came to me,"_ Rebekah informed him. _"She might have just given up if she was left to do it herself and she's too terrified to talk to either of you about it."_

"...what do you mean?" Klaus asked nervously. Jade was scared to talk to him?

 _"Nik, you're her father,"_ Rebekah emphasized. _"She can't talk to you about boys, about sex. Could you imagine Freya or I trying to talk to-"_

"I get it," he stopped her.

 _"Look,"_ Rebekah said seriously now. _"I know this isn't ever what you meant by it but..."_ She sighed. _"You and Kelly are always on top of her about dating, about Eric being older, about getting pregnant young."_

"She has her whole life ahead of her," Klaus argued.

 _"I'm aware of that,"_ Rebekah reminded him. _"I'm also aware that Kelly wasn't much older than Jade when she had her."_

"Oh no," Klaus sighed.

 _"All your lecturing about surprise babies makes her think she, your surprise baby, was a mistake,"_ Rebekah told him; they were both quiet a moment. _"Go talk to your daughter Nik,"_ she said as she hung up.

"What did she say?" Kelly was asking him now.

"That she did it, and she's glad Jade came to her," Klaus told her.

"Honestly," Kelly started off, though she had some reservations. "I am too." Klaus nodded silently.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," he said, nodding at the door.

"I'm gonna talk to Vicki about being a snitch," Kelly said back, heading outside. Klaus went upstairs, gently knocking on Jade's door.

"Come in," she called from the other side. She was sitting on her bed, back against the fluffy pillows, the same stuffed animal she had since she was a child in her lap. "Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi," he said back, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Wolfie keeping you company?" he nodded at her stuffed animal.

"He's not overly chatty though," Jade said lightly, setting him off to the side.

"Mind if I am?" Klaus asked and she nodded for him to start. "You know that your mother and I just worry about you, right?" She nodded. "We're your parents, we're always going to worry about you."

"That's what I hear," Jade murmured. "I go to parties with my friends all the time though so I don't know why this one-"

"We're not just talking about the party Jade," he told her seriously.

"Ah, I was hoping we were going to skip that," Jade muttered. "You already talked to Aunt Beks right?"

"I did," he nodded.

"...ok," she said, not sure what to read off him; he didn't say anything else. "What, dad?"

"You can talk to me Jade," he told her. "Or your mom, about anything."

"No, I couldn't dad," she said as she shifted uncomfortably. "Not about this stuff."

"You want the truth?" he asked her and she looked at him curiously. "I won't pretend that this isn't uncomfortable sweetheart, but you're not five years old anymore. You'll be going off to college next year, you're a young woman." He looked at her seriously. "And, I'm proud of you, for deciding to be responsible."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"He didn't pressure-"

"No," Jade stopped her dad. "No, um, we haven't..." She still felt uncomfortable. "He doesn't even know I'm taking it. I wanted to start...just in case."

"Ok," he nodded, not sure what to say now.

"We don't have to talk about it anymore," Jade promised and he looked relieved. "Thanks dad."

"Of course," he said, getting up and kissing her head before heading out of the room. Hearing Kelly back in the kitchen where the fight started he made his way there to talk with her.

"You were up there awhile," Kelly commented, having poured herself a glass of wine. "Everything ok?"

"Everything's fine," he nodded. "I told her she could come to us with anything and...that I'm proud of her."

"Hmm," Kelly hummed softly with a smile. "That's good." She nodded towards the front of the house. "You know I saw Eric's truck parked down the street when I went outside to talk to Vicki right?"

"I figured," he nodded. "Since I just heard her sneak out her window and down the side of that oak tree."

"She's still a teenager," Kelly commented.

"Mhmm," Klaus agreed, joining her with a glass of wine at the table. As usual when Jade would try to sneak out they let her go awhile and let her think she got away with it, either waiting up for her or Klaus going to get her. "She gets the rebellious streak from your side," he commented.

"I'll take rebellious over dramatic," she smirked at him.

 **thanks for reading! :) i really hope you liked it, please let me know what you thought!**


	6. When We Were Young

**_thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! i really hope you like this one and you'll let me know what you think!_**

 ** _When We Were Young_**

 _"I want to know about him, his family...how he met my mom," - Jade, Look After You, Chapter 14_

 _2009_

Klaus had told Kelly she was overreacting at first, but now he was really starting to worry.

She had called him before, frantic because she wasn't able to reach Jade. Their daughter was due home that evening for winter break, having just finished the semester at Whitmore where she was a senior. She told her mom she was going out with friends and then would be home. Without hearing from her Kelly was now convinced Jade drove home drunk and managed to wreck her car around a tree. He was convinced she had just lost track of time blowing off steam; after all, not only had she just gone through finals week but she told her parents she broke up with Mason Lockwood.

 _"Anything yet?"_ Kelly asked, calling Klaus again.

"Nothing..." He started off but then trailed off as he felt a car pulling up alongside him near the square in Mystic Falls. He noticed it was the same model as Jade's, the car he got her for her sixteenth birthday.

"Hey dad!" she called from the passenger seat; she was clearly drunk. What disturbed him though was who was driving the car.

"I've got her, she's fine," Klaus promised Kelly, hanging up the phone now as the car came to a stop.

"What's going on?" Jade asked, popping out of the car.

"You had your mother worried sick," Klaus informed her and Jade frowned.

"We were just having fun Nik," the driver said, getting out of the car; it was his younger brother Kol.

"Why didn't you tell me I had an Uncle Kol?" Jade questioned now.

"Or why no one told me I had a niece?" Kol smirked. "Because she's a lot of fun."

"Kol," Klaus said, though he wasn't sure where to start; Kol just rolled his eyes, stepping closer.

"Here," he said, handing Klaus the keys to Jade's car. "Don't let her drive." And with that, his brother took off. Klaus turned back to see Jade, drunk but still expecting answers.

"Well?" she questioned him, hands on her hips.

"It's a long story Jade," he told her with a sigh.

"Try me," she told him. "Because I just met my uncle by catching him snacking on one of my sorority sisters. So." She motioned to her dad. "Your move."

"Make you a deal?" Klaus offered and she nodded. "Let's get you something to eat, then we can talk."

"No, I'm not going in there," she said as her father started to walk towards the grille; he gave her a confused look. "The Lockwoods usually go in there on Thursdays, I don't want to run into Mason, it'll be weird."

"I'm sure it'll be worse for him," Klaus assured her, trying to lead the way again but she wouldn't move. The truth was while Mason was even older than her than Eric was he didn't mind them dating as much; Mason was also a werewolf, he came from a good family, and from what he could see he treated Jade very well. He was surprised when he found out she broke up with him after dating two years.

"Dad," Jade begged.

"All right," Klaus gave in, going in to order some take out as well as a water. There were few people that he would indulge like this, but his daughter could pretty much have whatever she wanted as far as he was concerned. He did slightly dread the conversation they were about to have though, spotting her on a nearby bench in the square. Going over he handed her the bag of food, with her grinning at the sight of the french fries.

"Aren't you cold?" Klaus commented, noting that it was December and Jade only had a light jacket.

"You are stalling," she said back, popping a french fry in her mouth. "But, if you must know, no." She smirked. "Tequila helps."

"You are definitely going to want this," he said, handing her the bottle off water; she took it with an eye roll.

"Spill," Jade told him, waiting for him to start.

"My relationship with Kol has always been strained," Klaus explained to her. "We hadn't talked for years when I found out about you, so in truth, I didn't even know how to tell him."

"Does the strain have to do with Finn?" she asked and he looked at her curiously.

"Did Kol-"

"I know about the coffins dad," Jade told him. "I found out when I was..." She trailed off. "Fourteen? When I went to stay with Aunt Freya in Chicago." She shrugged. "Don't blame her, I'm just a huge snoop."

"Jade-"

"You don't have to explain it to me dad," she let him off the hook about the coffins fairly easily. "Things were...different," she settled on the term, going back to snacking. "I'd like them to stay different though," she pointed out now.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I _mean_ ," Jade emphasized. "You looked like you wanted to take Kol's head off the second you saw him with me."

"I don't entirely trust him," he admitted.

"He made sure I didn't wreck my car," she said like it was obvious.

"There's about a thousand years more to this than you know," Klaus pointed out to her.

"There's more to it than you know," Jade said back and Klaus looked at her in confusion. "Look, after he figured out who I was he just wanted to keep me safe."

"As happy as I am that you didn't drive yourself home-"

"Not just that dad," Jade interrupted him, getting a little dizzy and taking a second. "Everyone heard about me and Mason, ok? Guys kept coming up to me but Kol made them..." She paused. "Stop," she decided to word it.

"What are you-"

"One guy's hand got broken, one guy just got compelled away," she listed off, then made a face. "And I really hate to think about what happened to the guy that tried to follow me to the bathroom."

"I'll have to talk to your uncle later," Klaus said. "To thank him, for watching out for you." He noticed Jade's eyes tearing up. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Just this stupid stuff with Mason," she said, wiping at her eyes quickly. "Ugh, I wanna change the subject." She nodded at him. "Any other siblings I should know about?" she asked lightly.

"Well, let's see," he said, matching her light tone as he didn't want to see her so sad. "There's your Aunt Freya, Finn, your Uncle Lijah," he said, referencing the nickname she gave him in her childhood. "Myself, Kol, Aunt Rebekah..." Jade noticed her father pausing.

"Dad?" she asked curiously.

"I never told you about my youngest brother Henrik," Klaus told her. "Did I?"

"You, um, started once," Jade reminded him. When she was young she wondered what caused her grandmother to turn her children into vampires in the first place. Her father had started to explain it to her but had to stop as it made him too upset. "You don't have to-"

"It's ok," Klaus stopped her, his smile soft but sad. "You know our love of wolves?" he asked and she nodded. "Rather than have Wolfie," he teased her and she smiled. "I often went off to see the real thing. One night Henrik begged me to take him with me." He swallowed hard. "And that's when it happened."

"I'm sorry dad," Jade told him.

"Not as sorry as I was," he said, resting his hand over hers. "After that, my mother turned us. And, after that..."

"You found out you were a wolf," she said and he nodded. "You're better than him," she said, meaning Mikael.

"We're better than them," Klaus added and she nodded, remembering her own stepdad. She had often suspected what she was about to ask but always held back; her buzz took the edge away though.

"Did you kill Step-Matt?" she asked softly.

"What makes you ask that?" he asked back; she had her answer.

"I always kinda figured anyone that hurt me and mom wasn't getting very far," she informed him and he nodded silently. "Can I ask you something?" she asked again, wanting to get away from talking about her step father.

"Why stop now?" he smirked at her and she made a face.

"Did you and mom ever...other than that one time?" Jade asked.

"No," Klaus told her honestly with a bit of a laugh. "No, your mother and I were a one time thing."

"You always said she was too good for you," Jade recalled as when she was a child and asked why they weren't married he told her it was because Kelly was too good for him; he was often singing her mother's praises.

"She is," he agreed.

"Surprised she even went for you in the first place," Jade teased him with a smirk.

"Tequila helps," he echoed her sentiment from before.

"Oh my God, dad," Jade laughed, unable to control her laughter for a moment. He smiled as she laughed, with her seeming at ease for the first time in days. Between her finals and her break up anytime he talked to her in the last week she seemed on edge. "Hmm, wow," she said, letting out a deep breath as she got a hold on her laughter.

"Do you love mom?" she asked him now.

"Loving someone and being in love with them are very different," he told her first, not sure where this fascination with his and her mother's relationship came from all of the sudden. "But, I do love your mom."

"Have you ever been in love before?" she asked.

"Why the sudden interest Jade?" he asked, laughing a little.

"I know Theo talked to you and Matt," she informed him.

Theo was her mom's long term boyfriend, who she started seeing that Valentine's Day when Klaus had been babysitting Matt. He knew about Jade, he knew about Klaus; while he wasn't anything supernatural himself he had grown up in a town like Mystic Falls that seemed to attract that energy. Kelly had never wanted to get married again, not until her children were much older anyway. But with Jade about to graduate from college and Vicki and Matt being late in high school it seemed like the time to ask. Theo had talked to Klaus and Matt about it, kind of like the way a younger man might ask a girl's dad for permission to marry her; after all, they were the men in her life.

"I know because he took me and Vicki ring shopping a few weeks ago, he's asking mom at Christmas," she informed him.

"Then I'm very happy for her," he told her genuinely; and he was. Kelly was a very important person in his life and her happiness was always a priority. As for Theo, he treated all three of Kelly's children well, and they themselves were amicable. What else would he want?

"But what about you dad?" Jade asked seriously. "I want you to be happy."

"Sweetheart, I _am_ ," he assured her, figuring this was about much more than the fact that she had never seen her father date anyone.

"Everyone needs someone," she insisted. "Everyone has that person, their person, they-" She was starting to talk really fast, something she did when she was anxious; the street lights around them started flickering.

"Jade, easy," Klaus told her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Take a breath, slow down," he told her, nodding at her water for her to drink; the lights returned to normal. "Jade, if this is about Mason," he started off.

"Dad," she shook her head.

"I'm by no means a relationship expert," he informed her. "But, if you're this upset, tell him you'll have him back and-"

"I'm not the one to be having anyone back," Jade cut him off and he looked at her in confusion. "Mason dumped me dad," she said as her eyes filled up with tears again; and like her laughter before, she couldn't contain them.

"...oh," Klaus said as he rested his hand on her back, with Jade taking her face in her hands and sobbing. Klaus had never had to deal with this before with her so he wasn't sure what else to say. She had broken up with Eric before she went to school and any other guys she saw in between him and Mason were just casual, things she ended herself for one reason or another.

"Ugh, God," Jade complained as she sat up right, wiping at her eyes again as the tears slowed down.

"Why didn't you tell your mother or me?" Klaus asked her. She was broken up with him regardless, why lie about how it happened?

"Maybe I didn't want you to kill him," Jade said lightly, using her sleeve to wipe at the make up she was sure was running down her face.

"The thought has crossed my mind," he said back, somewhat joking but somewhat not.

"Hmm," Jade laughed, staring at her hands that she was playing with; Klaus reached over with one hand to hold them still.

"He's an idiot Jade," he told her seriously.

"You have to say that," she said back.

"I'm a Mikaelson, I don't _have_ to do anything," he informed her and she shook her head at him, but she still laughed.

"I don't know," Jade shook her head about why she didn't say anything to her parents, or anyone for that matter, about what really happened with her and Mason. "I guess, if I said what happened I would also have to admit that I agree with him."

"About what?" Klaus asked curiously.

"That there's something wrong with me," Jade told him.

"He said that to you?" he asked her, trying not to snap. He might actually kill Mason.

"No, not exactly," Jade shook her head quickly. "Dad, I..." She trailed off, not sure how to tell him. "About a week ago I had a scare."

"What kind of-"

"I was two weeks late," she cut him off. Her dad's face had that same awkward expression it had when Vicki told her parents about her birth control pills. "And, I'm not, I wasn't..." She shook her head at herself. "But, I guess it made Mason realize that he wants kids that are werewolves. Not tribrids."

"Well, then he's an even bigger idiot than I realized," Klaus told her, taking just one of her hands and squeezing it. "Because raising you has been the greatest adventure of my life. And there is _nothing_ wrong with you," he said, kissing the back of her hand. "Other than the fact that you are freezing," he told her as he felt her icy fingers; she gave a weak smile. "Time to get you home."

"Ok," she nodded, standing up with him. She stayed there though as he started to walk. "Dad?"

"Hm?" he asked, turning back to her.

"This all made me realize something too," she told him. "I don't want to be here anymore, I don't want to keep pretending or whatever it is that I've been doing."

"All right," Klaus nodded. "Well, you just have a few months left of school-"

"No, dad," she shook her head. "It wasn't just an end of semester party that I was at tonight, it was a going away party. For me," she clarified.

"Where-"

"I transferred to Tulane," Jade continued to explain quickly. "...with Marcel's help," she admitted.

"In New Orleans?" Klaus asked her in confusion.

"Yeah, in New Orleans," she nodded with a smile. "I'm moving to New Orleans dad," she said with a bit of finality, that there was no changing her mind or point in arguing.

"...ok," he nodded. After all, she was going to be twenty two soon, she was an adult; there was no stopping her.

"Ok," she smiled, heading to the car now.

 **thanks for reading! kind of a long one but i hope you liked it! more soon!**


	7. Gimme Shelter, Part 1

**thanks so much for reviewing! i would love to hear from more of you on this next update!**

 ** _Gimme Shelter, Part 1_**

 _"It would have been pretty cool to have a big brother," Jade, Look After You, Chapter 31_

While Kelly hadn't been too enthused about Jade moving to New Orleans she shared Klaus's sentiment that their daughter was an adult and if she wanted to transfer schools she was going to do just that. Jade was off to New Orleans and while Kelly stayed in Mystic Falls with the two Donovan kids Klaus did head to New Orleans with her; that gave Kelly some peace of mind. In addition to moving to New Orleans, Jade had shed her old last name and started going by the name she always wanted which was Mikaelson. Things were changing, there was no denying that as there were a few other familial shifts going on.

Elijah also left for New Orleans with his brother, both having always been fond of the city. While Freya wasn't going to New Orleans she was going to be closer as she moved from Chicago to Austin to be with her girlfriend Keelin who was starting medical school. Rebekah wasn't based out of New York anymore, though she wasn't in New Orleans either as she was often traveling; Kol wasn't ever seen but he did keep in touch with his niece now.

That night, like most nights, Marcel found his way to Rousseeau's. He immediately looked over to the bar where the blonde behind it had that look on her face, the look women often have when they're getting hit on and they don't want to be. Walking over, he rested his hand on the guy's shoulder, shaking his head and nodding for the guy to leave. Knowing it wasn't his fight, the guy got up and left easily.

"How's my favorite bar tender?" he asked as he took over the guy's seat.

"Five hundred and four," Jade told Marcel as she sat a drink in front of him.

"I'm sorry?" Marcel laughed at her.

"Did you know that there are five hundred and four bars in this city?" she smirked at him. "And yet you always manage to find yourself at this one."

"Well, the staff is so welcoming," he told her sarcastically and she made a playful face. "You didn't seem to mind me getting rid of your admirer," he pointed out.

"I could've knocked that guy off his bar stool without actually touching him," Jade reminded him, keeping her voice low. While she did go by Mikaelson and many of the locals were in the know about the supernatural, they didn't go broadcasting who they all were. "And you know that." She smiled sweetly. "So, please stop hovering."

"You're my baby sister Jade," Marcel reminded her, finishing his drink and she poured him another one. "It's part of my job description."

"What are you two going on about?" Klaus asked as he came up to them at the bar; her brother wasn't the only one that hovered over her the last few months since she had been to the city.

"Five hundred and four," Jade told him before walking away.

"What's five hundred and four?" Klaus asked Marcel and Marcel just laughed, nodding for Klaus to follow him to their usual table.

"You seem to have a bit of a fan club," the girl Jade was training that night, Cami, was saying to her as Jade joined her on the other side of the bar, helping out with a group over there. Cami was a student as well, though she was ahead of Jade in school.

"What?" Jade asked in confusion; Cami nodded over at the table in the corner. "Ah, yeah, I guess," she shrugged it off.

"That one guy seems to like you," Cami teased, referring to Marcel. "He's cute."

"Ew, God, no!" Jade busted out laughing and Cami looked at her in confusion. "No, I'm sorry," Jade shook her head, unable to stop smiling. "It's just that, ah, Marcel's my brother."

"Oh!" Cami laughed, embarrassed she had made that mistake. "I'm sorry," she said as they were both laughing.

"No, it's fine," Jade told her, both of them taking a second to talk as everyone at the bar was content at the moment. "My parents didn't think they could have kids, so they adopted Marcel," she lied with ease. "Then, a few years later," she shrugged, motioning to herself. "Surprise."

"Crazy how things work out," Cami commented and Jade nodded. "Do you have any other brothers or sisters?"

"Younger half sister and brother, from my mom," Jade clarified. "My parents split up, but they're still friends."

"That's awesome," Cami told her. "So rare." Jade nodded.

"What about you?" Jade asked.

"I have a twin brother, Sean," she said with a smile. "He's been here in the city with our uncle, I transferred to be closer to them."

"Cool," Jade nodded, already knowing who Cami's uncle was; he knew about her and her family but Cami didn't. Jade already really liked her and figured they would end up being friends.

"So, who's the other guy?" Cami asked casually, clearing off some glasses.

"Ah, my cousin," Jade told her, trying to remember the lie that was floating around town. Yeah, that was it; Marcel was her brother and her dad and uncle were passing off as her cousins. "Klaus."

"Oh," Cami nodded, continuing to keep busy; Jade new that look, that trying to play it too casual.

"What, do you think he's cute or something?" Jade asked, leaning back against the bar. Across the bar Marcel and Klaus were eavesdropping.

"Man, I gotta get a kid," Marcel was joking. "She's a solid wing man."

"She's been on this kick about me dating," Klaus commented and Marcel knew about what lead Jade to want to move to New Orleans in the first place.

"Whatever keeps her mind off Mason I guess," Marcel shrugged. Back at the bar the girls were still talking.

"I could talk to him for you," Jade was going on to Cami.

"No," Cami laughed, feeling a little embarrassed. "No, we're not fourteen. I'll just..." She shrugged. "I'm sure I'll see him around."

"Fine," Jade said with a playful eye roll; she looked over as someone else was walking into the bar. "Hey Sophie," she nodded at her.

"Hey Jade," she smiled. Sophie was one of the only witches in the French Quarter that was nice to her. Most of the coven hadn't been too thrilled about her moving to New Orleans considering who her family was; they already weren't too happy about how much power Marcel and the vampires already had before the Mikaelsons got there. Sophie, on the other hand, wasn't too crazy about the strict rules in the coven; she had even started to have a thing with Marcel.

"This is Cami, she's the new bartender," Jade introduced her. "Sophie's our chef."

"Hey," Cami greeted her.

"Hi," Sophie said back nicely. "Please tell me she's replacing Josh," Sophie half complained to Jade.

"Megan," Jade informed her on who Cami was replacing. Josh was a newly turned vampire that Marcel turned to replace a night walker that he lost. "He's still new," she reminded her, meaning new in more ways than one.

"He's a mess," Sophie told her and Jade laughed a little.

"Well, he takes all the closing shifts so," Jade shrugged.

"Wait, really?" Cami asked. She wouldn't have to stay till close?

"Yeah, weekends we have two people but most nights Josh just takes it," Jade shrugged at her. This reason, of course, was because Josh didn't have a daylight ring yet. "And, hey, it's kinda dead so if you wanna take off," she told Cami.

"You sure?" Cami asked.

"Yeah," Jade nodded. She didn't really mind and she had something she wanted to talk to Sophie about alone anyway.

"Thanks, I could use the study time," Cami said as she grabbed her bag. Jade noticed her dad and Marcel had already torn out which was alright with her as well. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll be here," Jade smiled as she left.

"She seems nice," Sophie commented as she put her bag down behind the bar, grabbing her apron so she could head back to the kitchen.

"Yeah, Father K's niece," Jade informed her and Sophie nodded. "Hey Soph, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Sophie shrugged, not sure what this could be about.

"I know the witches usually hang out in the cauldron," Jade started off. "The vampires come in here. But I never see the werewolves."

"Uh huh," Sophie half laughed at her, figuring she had to know the truth; Jade's confused look told her that she didn't though. "...you're serious?" Sophie asked, raising her eye brows.

"Well, I mean," Jade was shrugging. "I grew up with my dad and his siblings, vampires and witches," she was listing. "The witches here aren't exactly on board with me. My dad never really talks about being a wolf so..." She shrugged. "There's three parts of me Soph, and I've only ever been around two."

"I get it," Sophie said sympathetically; Jade didn't like where this was going with her tone.

"...what?" Jade asked skeptically.

"I really think you should talk to Marcel about this," Sophie told her. No way did she want to get in the middle of this.

"Sophie," Jade stopped her. Sophie let out a heavy sigh, knowing she was going to regret this.

"Look," Sophie started off. "You think things are on edge now? You should have seen this place in the nineties. It was faction against faction, this place was a supernatural war zone. And, the center of a lot of the trouble, seemed to be around the wolves."

"So, are you telling me they're bad news and to stay away?" Jade half laughed at her; Sophie remained serious.

"Things got really bad," Sophie told her. "So, Marcel and my cousin Brynne...did something."

"What kind of something?" Jade asked.

"There haven't been any wolves in the quarter for almost fifteen years," Sophie admitted. "Marcel had Brynne do this spell, she reversed their curse on them. They're only human on the full moon."

"...what?" Jade managed to ask. She was in complete shock; how could her brother not tell her about this, especially knowing she had wanted to try to connect with all the factions in New Orleans since she was part everything.

"I really thought you would have known," Sophie told her. "I mean, part of it was your magic-"

"What?!" Jade snapped now, cutting her off.

"Brynne wasn't strong enough to do the curse herself," Sophie said, knowing she stuck her foot in her mouth. "She channeled you."

* * *

 _Flashback, 1997_

"You're heading back to New Orleans?" Jade asked, pouting a little. It was after her incident that got her suspended, after she had projected herself to the bayou, which was what brought her dad to bring Marcel to meet her. As great as it had been meeting his sister, Marcel had to get back to dealing with the issues in the city.

"Yeah," Marcel nodded, matching her expression. "But, I'll be back in a few weeks, ok?"

"Ok," she nodded enthusiastically.

"Can I ask you a favor Jade?" Marcel asked her. He had gotten a call from Brynne that she wasn't strong enough to do the spell and would need something to help boost her magic. He had talked to Klaus and then Kelly about it, both of them being ok with it as long as Jade didn't have any direct involvement.

"Sure," Jade nodded, eager to help her new found brother.

"It's just my one friend at home," he explained to the ten year old. "She's a witch too, and she's got this big spell but she doesn't know if she's strong enough to do it." He paused. "I was hoping we could borrow something of yours, maybe so she could channel you. If that's ok," he told her.

"Yeah, sure!" Jade said, taking off her necklace her Aunt Rebekah gave her. "Here," she said as she handed it to him.

"Thank you so much," Marcel told her, kissing her cheek. "I promise I'll bring this right back."

* * *

"MARCEL!" Jade screamed as she entered their home that night, leaving the bar in Josh's hands.

"Jade, you ok?" Marcel asked with concern as he entered the main room, though no sooner had he entered the room did he go flying across it. "Jade, what the-" He started to ask but then he went flying again, this time into a nearby wall, knocking off the paintings off of it.

"Did you think I wasn't going to find out?!" she was shouting at him.

"I'd like to find out, where do you get off coming in here and-"

"You have a lot of freaking nerve asking me where I-"

"Children, please," Elijah said as he and Klaus showed up, looking down from upstairs where they had been talking. He had meant it as a joke to lighten the mood, though both brothers picked up on the immediate tension.

"What's going on?" Klaus asked them seriously, both he and Elijah coming downstairs now.

"Why don't you ask your daughter," Marcel scoffed, dusting himself off. "She just came in here and-"

"Did you two know about the wolves?" Jade cut him off, looking to her dad and uncle. Their silence was her answer. "Oh my God," she groaned, turning away from them as she rubbed her forehead.

"It's a lot more complicated than you understand," Klaus was trying to calm her down.

"So complicated that you all failed to mention to me that _my_ magic was used to cast the spell?" Jade snapped.

"Jade," Klaus sighed.

"How," she started off at all of them. "How could you all use me like that. I was a _child_ ," she went on. She motioned to Marcel. "Is that why you came to meet me in the first place?"

"Of course not Jade," Marcel said, truly offended. "That wasn't it at all."

"What happened that was so important that you would lie to me all this time, I-"

"You wanna know what happened?" Marcel snapped at her now. "An entire family got murdered, that's what happened."

"What?" Jade asked.

"You were there in the bayou Jade," Marcel reminded her. "You saw all the bodies. What do you think was going on?"

"So you cursed an entire group of people?" Jade asked him. "With my magic?" Marcel shook his head, looking at Klaus to keep going; he couldn't keep going on and on with Jade just angry at him.

"Jade, they were all fighting," Klaus explained to her. "Not just with the vampires but with each other. That's why I had to go to New Orleans, to try to help Marcel negotiate peace."

"...and?" Jade asked impatiently.

"And while they were in Mystic Falls seeing you I had to call them with the news that there were more deaths," Elijah cut in. "A family, parents and a little girl about your age at the time."

"But, all those people-"

"We had no idea who did it," Marcel said now. "They had no leads on it either. Maybe it was stupid but it was the only way I saw to keep any more of them from dying."

"But all of them, that's not fair," Jade insisted.

"They killed a child Jade," her uncle said seriously.

"The kids that I saw in the bayou that day didn't do it," she argued. "And now they've been stuck this way all this time, and you used me to do it?"

"You're mad now," Klaus started off.

"Mad?" Jade scoffed. "I'm furious. You all don't get to do that, you don't get to..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "No, you know what, no," she said, grabbing her bag. "I'm switching them back."

"You're going to switch them back," Marcel questioned now. "What, tonight?"

"It's a full moon," Jade shrugged, turning her back on them and heading for the door.

"If you go out there," Marcel started to warn her. "Klaus, tell her the fuse she's gonna be lighting off."

"Jade, he's right," Klaus said. He and Elijah had just been upstairs discussing the growing tensions between the vampires and witches. Jade freeing the wolves would undoubtedly set off a spark.

"Who's gonna stop me, you three?" Jade asked heading out the door, keeping her back to them as she threw her hand up. They tried to follow her but found themselves trapped by a boundary spell.

"Jade!" Marcel called.

"Don't wait up!" she called back, heading around the corner to get her car.

"Jade!" her father shouted now; all they heard now was her car taking off.

* * *

 _Ugh, Marcel_ , Jade was cursing her brother in her mind as she arrived at the bayou, parking her car along the side of the road. _Using my magic to, ah, I can't believe him_ , her mind was racing. She didn't know if she had ever been so upset with her brother before. Hearing the sounds of what sounded like a party, she started in that direction. As her mind started to wander though she realized that she didn't really have a plan for what she was going to do next. What, was she just going to show up, introduce herself, and they would just believe she was going to fix it? She didn't have much more time to contemplate it though as she felt herself being knocked to the side.

"I told you I heard someone out here," she heard someone say, realizing it was the someone that was holding onto her arm.

"C'mon man, let her go," one was insisting.

"What, we can't go into the quarter but they can...Ah, ah, ah," he winced as his hand felt like it was breaking, releasing Jade's arm.

"Take your hand off me, thank you," Jade said sarcastically and he backed up; she realized that there were three guys there about her age. And that was when the memory struck her. "Oh my God, you're the boys," she said and they looked at her funny. "The boys I saw in the bayou that day, it's you. Right?" she asked, looking between the three of them again. One blonde, two with dark hair, just like she remembered. The blonde was the one who's hand she nearly broke with just her mind.

"You're the Mikaelson girl," one of the ones with darker hair commented, remembering her dad spotting her and them running off before she vanished. It didn't take many long to figure out who she was, no matter how much Marcel and Klaus tried to keep it a secret.

"Jade," she told him her name, figuring that out of the three of them he was the one in charge; they all continued to look at her. "So...I don't get names?" she asked lightly, though sarcasm tinged her voice.

"I'm Jackson," he finally told her. "This is Aiden and Oliver." He paused. "What are you doing out here?"

"Honestly?" she asked. "I'm here to help."

"Haven't you already helped enough?" Oliver asked sarcastically.

"I had no idea what I was helping with," Jade told him seriously and he rolled his eyes at her. "Um, ok I was ten. Did you know what the adults in your life were doing when you were ten?" They didn't say anything. "That's what I thought."

"I don't know how you plan on helping," Jackson told her. "Only the witch that cast it can break it, and she's been dead for years."

"Well, she used my magic to do it," Jade reasoned. "What could it possibly hurt?"

"And why should we trust a Mikaelson?" Oliver asked back.

"Because I'm not just my family," she argued. "I'm not who raised me."

"Can you guys give us a minute?" Jackson said now; something she just said struck a chord with him, not that she would know exactly what.

"Jackson," Aiden was saying now; he nodded for them to go.

"Why are you here Jade?" Jackson asked her seriously.

"I told you," she said honestly. "I found out what happened tonight and all I could think about what how pissed off it made me, about how bad I felt. You have to believe me, I had no idea they let that witch channel me, I-"

"I believe you," Jackson assured her, weighing his options. It wasn't like they had too many people coming out to the bayou offering to help them; she was a Mikaelson though and they had all heard about her father, not to mention what her brother had obviously done to them. "Anything you're trying, any spells whatever, they get done to me first, ok? I don't need any weird magic side effects hurting my pack."

"Your pack?" she questioned. "You're their alpha?"

"I am," he nodded. "And I'm trusting you to fix it."

"I couldn't possibly make it worse," Jade said lightly, feeling the pressure for the first time. It really was all up to her to try to fix this, to save these people; she offered her hand for a shake.

"That's the spirit," Jackson said back with the same light tone, shaking her hand.

* * *

Jade went home that night having run out of time, promising she would be back in a month after some research. Pulling up to the house she waved her hand, removing the boundary spell that contained the three she had left there. Heading inside she found the place to be mostly quiet, slipping upstairs to her room without much notice; that was, until there was a knock at the door.

"Jade?"

"Come in dad," Jade called and he invited himself in.

"You forgot your phone tonight," he told her, returning it.

"Thanks," she said as she set it on her nightstand, both of them tiptoeing around the tension in the room. She knew he was unhappy with what she had done that night, that he didn't want her involved.

"You know," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Your uncle Kol called tonight while you were gone."

"Oh, ok," she nodded. "He said he was gonna check in, see how New Orleans was." He nodded. "Did you talk to him?"

"I did," Klaus nodded. "I told him what you were up to tonight too."

"I wouldn't be surprised if even he knew about the wolves," Jade quipped sarcastically. "Seeing as everyone knew what my magic was being used for but me."

"I understand that you're upset Jade," Klaus assured her. "And I understand why. But you have to realize we didn't feel like we had much other choice."

"Dad," Jade shook her head at him. "You understand why I have to do this right?" He was quiet a moment.

"I do," Klaus told her now, getting up from her bed now. "Just be careful, all right sweetheart?" he said before kissing her head.

"Yeah, ok," Jade said back, surprised by her dad's sudden shift to her side. "Good night dad."

"Good night," he said, heading out of the room and closing the door gently behind him.

* * *

 _Earlier that night_

Realizing they were trapped in the house that evening, the three of them split up among the house. Klaus was going to leave the room but then heard Jade's phone ringing on the coffee table, lighting up with Kol's name. Still angry with her for her stunt that night he picked up the phone planning to yell at Kol; surely he was part of this somehow.

"Hello?" Klaus answered the phone.

 _"Is Jade there?"_ Kol asked in confusion.

"No, do you want to know where your niece is?" Klaus snapped at him.

 _"Sort of why I called Nik,"_ Kol said sarcastically. _"I was just calling to check on her."_

"Well, you'll be happy to know she's taken after you in the pot stirring department," Klaus informed him.

 _"How so?"_ Kol asked, amused by how annoyed his brother seemed.

"She's taken off, gone out to the swamp to reverse the curse on the Crescent Pack," Klaus started off.

 _"I heard something about that curse,"_ Kol informed him. _"Why are you so angry she's reversing it though?"_

"Other than the fact that she's locked Elijah, Marcel, and I in the house?" Klaus asked, to which his brother laughed; Kol could practically see his brother's face.

 _"I'm sorry,"_ he chuckled. _"She's just something, that's all."_ Klaus didn't say anything. _"Do you want my advice Nik?"_

"Father advice, really?" Klaus asked sarcastically.

 _"Look, I haven't known Jade for very long,"_ he admitted. _"But, I do know that she struggles with feeling different, like she's an outsider. And, speaking as the family outsider-"_

"Kol," he tried to stop him.

 _"Whatever it is she's doing, don't alienate her or make her feel like she's wrong,"_ Kol said. _"You're her family, back her up. Or you'll lose her."_ And with that, he hung up the phone. Klaus sighed, putting Jade's phone back. He would never want to admit that Kol was right, but he surely made sense given what Klaus had seen play out among his own family.

 **thanks for reading! i really hope you liked it! more soon! :)**

 **also, update on _look after you_ , it's on a slight pause while i take time to get the final chapter just right. please let me know what you thought about this chapter!**


	8. Gimme Shelter, Part 2

_**thanks so much for the reviews on the last update, hope you like this!**_

 _ **Gimme Shelter, part 2**_

 _"It would have been pretty cool to have a big brother," Jade, Look After You, Chapter 31_

Jade worked through the summer to try to find a solution to the curse but couldn't come up with anything that would stick. While her father supported her (though really he was just not getting in her way about it) she couldn't say the same for her uncle or brother. Her uncle was concerned with keeping a low profile as to not provoke anything in the city; Marcel was the same, though things were extra icy between him and his sister, especially when full moon would roll around. Today though, as Sophie had come to him with an issue the night before, his sister was the person's help he needed.

"Hey," Marcel nodded, finding her on the couch, book in her lap. She was pouring through her grandmother's spell books to try to find something else about werewolves and turning.

"Hi," she said, not looking up from her page.

"I need to ask you a question," he said, leaning his forearms against the back of the couch.

"Nice of you to actually ask, shoot," Jade said, looking over at him now.

"Jade," Marcel said seriously and she rolled her eyes, motioning from him to continue. "Have you ever heard of a harvest ritual? It's something that the witches here supposedly do-"

"The witches that practice ancestral magic?" she asked with raised eye brows; she motioned to herself. "Which, I don't. So..." She nodded at her book, back to it. He snatched the book away from her.

"This is serious," he snapped at her. "Sophie was telling me about it last night-"

"Well, right now, I'm a little too involved in the last mess you got into with a Deveraux witch," Jade cut him off.

"I have apologized to you a thousand times Jade," Marcel started in on her. "All right? I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I just wanted to keep other kids from getting hurt and that was my only option. _Kids_ Jade, ok? Like the ones you saw in the bayou."

"And what did you let happen to those kids exactly?" Jade asked.

"Jade, for the love of-"

"Enough you two," Klaus stopped them as he came home.

"You talk to Elijah?" Marcel asked him; Klaus nodded, though cautiously. "And?"

"We're not pursuing this matter," Klaus told him.

"What, why?!" Marcel demanded. "I told you what Sophie said."

"We're not going to risk pushing the witches any further than we already have," Klaus informed him. "Especially with Jade's..." He struggled for the words. "Extracurricular activities."

"Nice," Jade said sarcastically, turning back to her reading.

"So, that's just it then?" Marcel snapped; Klaus didn't say anything. "Since when do you care about not pissing off the witches?" he demanded.

"Since I have children to worry about," Klaus snapped back at him. "And before you say anything, I know. I know it wasn't always like this, I know you are capable of taking care of yourself, but there is someone else," he said, casting a glance at Jade. "That I need to worry about before I get involved in any plan over some teenage witches I've never met."

"But-"

"End of discussion Marcel," Klaus told him and Marcel took off.

"What's going on?" Jade asked her dad.

"Nothing that we're going to be getting involved in," Klaus assured her, taking a seat on the couch as Jade moved her legs. "You keep working on what you're working on, while your uncle and I head back to Mystic Falls for a few days."

"Why, is everything ok?" she asked worriedly.

"Everything is fine," Klaus said, though his next statement would prove that wrong. "It's just that, for you to have stayed there we promised to keep the town vampire free."

"I know," Jade said.

"And some happen to be in town," Klaus informed her. "Everything is fine with your brother and sister, your mom and Theo as well," he assured her. What he wasn't telling her was why Mayor Lockwood called him. There were vampires in town, that he knew. There was an attack on the football coach and, unfortunately, Mason who was the assistant football coach had disappeared.

"We just want to keep that place safe for them," he finished for her and she nodded.

"I'll see you in a few days then," Jade smiled at him, sitting back again on the couch.

"Can I offer you some advice Jade?" he asked and she turned back to him. "You need to make up with Marcel."

"Dad," she complained.

"Listen to me," Klaus stopped her. "You two have been at it all summer. Before you know it months become years and then one day..." He shook his head. "One day, you'll be looking at your own daughter and wondering how to tell your brother that she even exists. And then you won't be able to."

* * *

"...you ok?" Cami asked, a little amused though Jade seemed a little more agitated than usual, tossing her bag under the bar when she got there the next day.

"My brother's just a pain in the ass," Jade rolled her eyes as she grabbed her name tag off the cork board. Since her dad and uncle left yesterday things were especially tense around the house without their buffers, despite what her dad said about making up.

"Well, maybe him and Sean can start a club," Cami told her. "He's been acting weird since yesterday."

Jade figured it had something to do with what was going on with the witches as well. She knew that after her dad Marcel brought the harvest to Father Kieran's attention since he was the leader of the human faction. Jade continued to feel bad that not only was she keeping secrets from her best friend about the supernatural but so was her twin brother; Kieran was training him so he could take over as the human faction leader one day.

"Let's go out after work," Cami was telling her now, bringing her attention back. "Take our minds off it."

"Sounds fantastic," Jade told her with a weak smile.

"Oh, and hey," Cami was saying now. "I'm good to take next Tuesday off you." Tuesday, of course, was the full moon.

"You're seriously the best," Jade was telling her.

"Well, since I'm the best," Cami teased. "Do I get to know about the guy you're seeing?"

"There's no guy," Jade was laughing, though they were interrupted by the sounds of police cars flying down the street. "Weird..."

"Yeah," Cami agreed, both of them watching people in the street crane their necks to see where the cars were going. "Wonder what's going on."

"Who knows," Jade brushed it off, though she did have an uneasy feeling.

"So, I haven't seen your cousins in a few days," Cami commented, turning to put some glasses away.

"You are the least casual person I've ever met," Jade teased her. She had really hoped that by now something would have happened between Cami and Klaus but nothing, save what seemed like a few sweet conversations. "They went out of town for a few days, back where we grew up."

"I guess that explains the added tension between you and-"

"Marcel?" Jade questioned, seeing him walk through the door.

"Yeah," Cami laughed, but realized he was there as she turned around.

"Guys, place is closed," he said, waving the few afternoon patrons out.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked as he finished shooing the rest of them away, coming over to the bar.

"We need to talk," he said and Jade got that uneasy feeling again like when she saw the cop cars racing down the street. "Your uncle sent me, Cami."

"...what is it?" she asked nervously.

* * *

A few days later the news was all over town. As if he had just suddenly snapped, Cami's brother Sean had gone on a rampage at their uncle's church and killed his fellow students before killing himself. Cami had shut herself into her apartment, refusing to see anyone. The church was closed and, after burying Sean the following day, Kieran planned to leave town for while. That night, Jade had had plans to go check on Cami, but Marcel intercepted her insisting he needed her help. Not in the mood to fight with her brother after what happened with Cami's she followed along, though she felt super morbid as they were sneaking into the morgue.

"What are we doing here Marcel?" Jade asked, looking around uncomfortably.

"Do you actually think Sean O'Connell just snapped?" Marcel asked, leading the way over to a table.

"Oh my God, is that-" Jade was asking in shock, seeing that there was someone laying under a sheet.

"We need to know if the witches were involved," Marcel stopped her. "I think they were trying to keep Kieran busy, too busy to stop the harvest."

"Does Father K know we're down here?" Jade asked seriously.

"Father K is leaving town day after tomorrow," Marcel reminded her. _So, no_ , Jade thought to herself.

"I can't keep lying to that family," Jade was shaking her head at him. She couldn't do this, she couldn't know more about Sean's death than his own sister and then turn around and keep that from her.

"It's you and me right now Jade," Marcel reminded her, his voice gentle. They had insisted Klaus and Elijah finish what they were involved in at Mystic Falls before they came back. "I'm not gonna make you, but we need to know exactly what we're dealing with. And if the witches are going to go after Sean, what's next?"

"...ok," Jade hesitantly agreed, figuring if they had hexed Sean she would at least be able to sense it. Holding her hands over the sheet, she closed her eyes and concentrated. That was when she felt it, this horrific darkness that flew into her and filled her mind.

"AH!" Jade screamed, breaking away and falling back against the wall, sliding down to the floor as tears slid down her cheeks. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," she was shaking, the feeling gone but the after effects remaining.

"Jade, whoa, hey," Marcel, kneeling next to her. "Jade, look at me." Rather than look at him, Jade threw her arms around him.

"I don't want to fight anymore," Jade was shaking her head; Marcel had never seen his sister panic like this before.

"Here, stand up," Marcel said, helping her to her feet, helping steady her by holding her arms. "What is it?"

"I don't want to fight with you anymore," Jade was telling him, her eyes welling up with tears again. "Not after this, not after what they did to Cami's brother, I-"

"The witches did do something then," Marcel confirmed and she nodded.

"A hex, it took over him so fast," Jade explained, wiping the tears off her face. "Marcel, I want you to stay out of this."

"Jade."

"I'm serious," she insisted. "If they could do that to him, I don't want to think about what they could do to you." Marcel wouldn't say anything. "Marcel, please, promise."

"Ok Jade," Marcel nodded, though careful how he would word it. "Ok, I'll stay safe. Let's get out of here, ok?" Jade nodded, eagerly following him out of the building. Leaving her at Cami's building, Jade walked upstairs and knocked on Cami's door. With no answer, but the door unlocked, Jade opened the door slightly.

"Cami?" she called into the apartment.

"Ah, in here," Cami called from where she sat in her cramped kitchen, laptop open on the table. Both women were silent a moment. "Hi."

"Hi," Jade said. What do you say to someone who lost so much?

"You wanna sit?" Cami asked, nodding at the chair next to her; Jade took it. "I'm sorry I haven't answered any of your messages."

"No, I understand," Jade assured her. "What...what can I do Cami?"

"You wanna drive to Tallahassee and knock some sense into my parents?" Cami asked lightly, closing her laptop. "They're, ah, not coming tomorrow."

"...what?" Jade asked in disbelief.

"They've officially disowned my brother," Cami informed her. "Kieran won't have an actual funeral for him and he's..." She shook her head. "He's not being buried in the family plot. He's getting put with the John Does."

"I'm sorry Cam," Jade told her. "...we can have a funeral for him," she hesitantly offered, unsure if Cami would go for it.

"Oh yeah?" Cami asked lightly, sipping the drink she had poured for herself.

"Yeah," Jade nodded sincerely. "I'll bring the flowers, Marcel will bring the jazz recording. We'll get some candles..." She trailed off as Cami started to look even sadder than when she walked in.

"Can you stay here with me tonight, please?" Cami asked, blinking back tears.

"Yeah," Jade nodded quickly. "Yeah, absolutely."

* * *

The next day was Tuesday, Sean's funeral and the night of the full moon. After keeping her promise to bring flowers and give Cami as close to a funeral for a brother as she could, Jade left her alone at her request and raced home, getting her stuff ready to head out to the bayou that night. She had come across a spell that she was hoping to manipulate to not only free them from the curse but to also grant them the ability to control when they turned all together. Running around her room to change out of her funeral clothes she heard her phone ringing on her bed; it was Jackson.

"Hey, I told Eve I was gonna be running late," Jade explained as the phone was on speaker, swapping her black skirt for a pair of cut off shorts. Eve was a member of the pack that hadn't triggered her curse so she was still human all the time.

 _"Yeah, she told me about your friend's brother,"_ Jackson explained, having obviously never met any one of Jade's friends but he had heard about them. _"You ok?"_

"Huh?" Jade asked in confusion, peeling off her black blouse and pulling a deep green tank top on in it's place.

 _"I mean do you wanna talk about it?"_ he asked politely.

"Oh," Jade said when she realized. "No, I ah," she shook her head as she grabbed her bag, heading downstairs. She was wiped out, not sleeping the night before as the memory of what she felt through Sean haunted her. "I'm just exhausted, I'd rather focus my energy on this."

 _"Won't fight you on that,"_ Jackson said lightly.

"I really think I have it this time Jack," Jade was explaining as she hurried around, grabbing Esther's book. "I...Marcel?"

 _"What?"_ Jackson asked in confusion.

"Marcel, who," he heard her starting to ask. "Jackson, I gotta call you back," she was saying, hanging up quickly. "Marcel, who is that?" Marcel had raced into the house, toting a teenager along with him.

"We need your help Jade," Marcel was telling her. "This is Davina."

"The harvest was tonight," Jade realized and suddenly there was pounding at the door.

"Marcel!" Jane Anne was screaming; by the sound of it, she wasn't alone. Jade quickly waved her hand, sealing the doors shut.

"We need a place to hide her," Marcel explained.

"And this was the least obvious spot?" Jade asked.

"Jade," Marcel snapped.

"Ok, let me think," she said, though she could hardly concentrate with the noise; she caught a glance of that young girl though, the fear in her eyes. "I know a place, ok? But you're gonna have to trust me."

"You got it," Marcel assured her.

"Ok?" Jade asked, holding her hand out for Davina. She nodded, taking it. "Follow me, all right?" They raced down the stairs to the basement, through the tunnels that connected eventually to the street. Hopping into Jade's car, Marcel was driving and Jade was sitting in the back with Davina.

"They're one hundred percent gonna spot us in your car," Marcel informed her as Jade told him where to go when they were running through the tunnels.

"Not if they think we're still at the house," Jade assured him, taking Davina's hands as she recalled a spell from her childhood. Projecting them to the house, Jade allowed the witches to think that they were there, running them from room to room. Parking a few blocks from the church they ran the rest of the way there, leading Davina up to the attic.

Marcel left to call Diego, to get the vampires after the witches while Jade worked to hide where Davina was, linking the spell to herself. In order to break the cloaking spell on Davina they would have to kill her, which she knew would never happen with who her father was. With Davina hidden and safe, the three of them all took a second to breathe.

"...thank you," Davina said softly.

"Of course," Marcel assured her quickly. "Look, I'm gonna get you some stuff for up here," he was saying, after he and Jade had already apologized that it had to be there. "Make it more like home, yeah? Just let me know what you want and-"

"Davina?" Jade interrupted, reading her concerned face. "Sweetie, what is it?"

"I can feel them looking for me," Davina explained. "Their spells, I can sense it."

"They're not getting through the magic that's hiding you, if that's what you're worried about," Jade assured her with a soft smile. "Not while I'm still alive, ok?"

"It's not that," Davina shook her head. She knew she was safe as long as the Mikaelson family was hiding her. "What if we did something?"

"What kind of-"

"A keep them from practicing magic kind of something," Davina explained; neither Jade or Marcel seemed sure what to make of that. "Look after what they did to me," she was saying. "To my friends, to your friend's brother?" she asked. "Not to mention they want your other friends to stay how they are, they don't want the wolves back."

"How would we even do that?" Jade asked.

"I can tell you right now who's doing the spell," Davina told her. "How you decide to stop them is up to you."

"Give me a name," Marcel said, taking off once Davina gave it to him.

"This should be interesting," Jade said lightly as she sat down on the bare mattress with Davina.

"Not like they don't deserve it," Davina told her and Jade nodded in agreement.

"The first thing I'm gonna get you for here are some sheets," Jade told her and Davina smiled.

"You're gonna come back," she said.

"Of course," Jade promised. "I'm not gonna hide you then leave you," she laughed a little, rubbing her eyes; that was two nights in a row now without sleep.

"Are you ok Jade?" Davina asked nicely.

"Ugh, just been wearing myself thin that's all," Jade told her with a weak smile.

"I'm sorry about last night," Davina told her.

"Oh, no it-"

"No, it's just," Davina stopped her. "I know last night was the full moon."

"Oh," Jade said when she realized. The sun was up now, meaning her chance to see and work with the wolves this month was gone. "Oh God," she groaned, rubbing her forehead. Knowing that the last thing Jackson heard was her running off to help Marcel it surely looked like she abandoned them for her brother. She knew that not all of them trusted her because of who her family was and now with this she was probably proving someone's point that she couldn't be trusted. And now she had to wait a month to explain herself.

"Maybe I can help," Davina offered.

"What do you mean?" Jade asked.

"I mean when Brynne did the first spell she channeled you," Davina reminded her. "You're already stronger than she was, and then if you channeled me," she said, taking Jade's hand and letting her feel the magic. Jade gasped, realizing she had not just her magic but the other three girls that died's magic as well. "We could do the spell, and we probably wouldn't even need the full moon to do it."

"You don't have to do this," Jade told her, afraid Davina felt like she owed her or something.

"I want to help them, my coven hurt them too," she pointed out. "Let's just try?"

"Ok," Jade agreed with a smile. "Let's do it."

* * *

After performing the spell Davina insisted Jade go out to the bayou to see if it worked, making her promise to come back with the results. Hopping into her car, Jade sped out of town, wide awake now with excitement to see if it worked. Parking where she did that first night she took off down the path. She spotted Eve first, which wasn't overly encouraging at first, until she gave her a smile, nodding at the small house that edged the water. Going inside, she didn't spot anyone right away.

"Hey," she heard Jackson's familiar voice saying behind her.

"Oh my God, it worked!" Jade exclaimed.

"It worked," he nodded in agreement with a laugh.

"This is amazing!" she grinned, throwing her arms around him to hug him; he hugged her back.

"Thank you," he told her sincerely as he let her go. "I seriously don't know how to thank you."

"How about coming to New Orleans tomorrow?" Jade asked and he looked at her curiously.

* * *

"Marcel, Jade!" they heard Elijah calling as he and Klaus entered the house. Jade and Marcel went to join them in the main room from where they had been cleaning up the house; the witches had left it a bit of a train wreck when they had been searching for Davina.

"How was Virginia?" Jade asked lightly.

"What the hell happened in here?" Elijah ignored her trying to change the subject.

"It looks like two teenagers had a party," Klaus said, not as cross as his brother but still annoyed. They heard about the magic ban almost as soon as they hit the edge of town. So much for keeping a low profile to keep the peace.

"It was not fun and games, believe me," Marcel informed them.

"What. Happened."

"The witches killed three of those four girls," Jade explained. "Marcel saved her and I hid her." She shrugged. "It's really not a lot to explain."

"Except the part where you're trying to keep the witches from practicing magic," Elijah reminded them.

"We were staying out of this for your safety Jade," Klaus added now. "What are the witches going to do when-"

"You think anyone's stupid enough to come after me after what they've all heard about you?" Jade asked him.

"They're certainly going to be tempted to now," he told her angrily. How could she be so reckless? "What were you thinking, trying to take over the city like this?"

"Remind you of anyone?" Elijah quipped at his brother as if it was somehow his fault; he fell under his brother's glare.

"I was thinking," Jade explained, annoyed now that she was being talked to like she was a child. "That we can keep them from practicing magic because we know exactly who's trying to practice and when, because of Davina. They're not going to do anything because they can't do anything."

"This wasn't the way to handle this," Elijah told her.

"Didn't you all tell me the wolves needed to be cursed over what happened to that family?" Jade asked. "And you didn't even know who killed them. We know the entire coven went after those girls, and managed to kill three of them. And they're responsible for what happened to Sean."

"They what?" Klaus asked, not knowing that Sean had been hexed.

"Cami and Father K have no idea, but yeah," Marcel told them.

"So, that's it, it's done," Jade said now.

"And we're not giving her back," Marcel tacked on; the other two were silent.

"What?" Jade asked, looking more to her dad.

"Just good to see you two on the same team at least," he pointed out, though he knew this was a mistake. Before Jade he never would have had any issue with this. He would have been happy to help Marcel, especially if it got the witches out of the way. In the nearly two decades he had been around for her though many things had changed, including his worry about what she was getting herself into.

"...Lijah?" Jade asked as her uncle seemed to be the more angry between the two.

"You're my niece Jade," Elijah told her. "I side with no one over this family, but this isn't like when you projected yourself to the bayou when you were ten. This is..." He trailed off when someone else came into the room.

"Hi, sorry," Jackson said as he interrupted. "Jade said to come in if the door was open."

"Jack, hey," Jade greeted him warmly, though the room shifted to be even more tense if that was possible.

"What's going on Jade?" her father asked curiously.

"Jade freed the Crescents," Marcel interjected. "I asked Jackson here to talk."

"You did that?" Klaus asked skeptically after all the grief between Marcel and Jade over the wolves in the first place.

"Might have been more Jade's idea," Jackson tacked on. It had been clear since Jade had been trying to arrange this that neither Marcel or Jackson were too crazed about the idea. Longstanding tensions between vampires and werewolves even before the curse took place didn't help.

"I gotta mediate so," Jade said, going to follow them but Klaus caught her arm.

"Can I see you?" Klaus asked softly.

"Be nice," Jade was saying to Marcel and Jackson as she went to follow her dad, though she wasn't sure who she was talking to more. She followed her dad into the next room, closing the door gently behind her. "What's up?"

"When was the last time you slept Jade?" he asked her.

"It's been a long couple days," she admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me about Sean?" he asked seriously. "We would have come home, we would have helped."

"You were taking care of mom and the kids," she said back, just as serious.

"I'm worried about you Jade," he told her. "Driving yourself crazy with this curse-"

"It's fixed," she reminded him.

"This situation with the witches," he listed off.

"Handled," she pointed out again. "Dad, you worry too much."

"Of course I worry, I'm your father," he told her like it was obvious.

"Dad," Jade said gently. "It's going to be _ok_. Davina and Marcel are handling the witches. And as far as the werewolves...I've developed a really good relationship with them, especially now," she motioned at the door, meaning because the curse broken. "Can't we just enjoy this?"

"For now," he agreed hesitantly.

"That's all I ask," she smiled, kissing her dad's cheek.

 **thanks for reading! i really hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think! :)**


	9. Wake Me Up

**glad you all liked the last update, hope you like this one!**

 _ **Wake Me Up**_

 _"[I didn't] scare boys from coming to see you," - Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

"Hi," Jade greeted Jackson with a smile that night as he came into the bar.

It had been a few weeks and everyone was working on their new normal, as stiff and as tense as it might be. Between the witches not practicing and the wolves and vampires trying out this new forced friendship she was kind of starting to see why her dad and Elijah had been so aggravated with her and her brother. Neither her or Marcel would admit that though; after all, helping the wolves and saving Davina were all the right thing to do.

"Hey," he smiled back as he sat down and she passed him a beer. If Josh were here he would point out to Jade that this was the fourth time this week Jackson came to see her at work, on a kick that Jade and Jackson liked each other. Jade, never one to admit when other people were right, continued to brush it off. What she didn't know what Jackson was getting similar comments from Aiden and Oliver.

"How was apartment hunting?" she asked and he waved her off, indicating that it had been a pain, making her laugh a little. Part of the truce was the wolves getting their businesses they used to have back and with that, some of them were planning to move out of the bayou. With most faction meetings taking place in New Orleans, Jackson was one of the ones moving closer as to be a bigger part of the action.

"Speaking of places, how are things around yours?" he asked her now.

"Ah, Marcel and I are talking again at least," she said lightly. "They're not angry, they're just disappointed," she said in a fake serious tone about her dad and uncle.

"Ouch," Jackson laughed.

"Yeah," Jade laughed in agreement. "But, it's getting a little less icy each day so who..." She trailed off as someone came around the corner of the bar, coming behind it and grabbing her apron. "Cami?"

"Hi," Cami greeted her, trying a little too hard to be pleasant. "Hi," she greeted Jackson. "I'm Cami."

"Jackson," he introduced himself to her, though he was giving Jade a confused look.

"You must be the guy that-" she started off, always suspecting the switches Jade needed for work were to see a guy.

"Cam, what are you doing back?" Jade cut in. "I thought you weren't coming back for a few weeks, focusing on school?" she said in a lower voice.

"My adviser," Cami said stiffly. "Recommended I wait to come back until next semester."

"Okaaaay," Jade said slowly, picking up that Cami didn't want to be smothered or pushed into staying home. It was still too soon for her to be coming back though, and sooner rather than later she was going to notice the others in the bar looking in their direction and whispering. "But look, it's Wednesday, it's dead in here. I can handle this."

"I know what you're doing Jade," Cami informed her.

"So, don't fight me and sit," Jade said, nodding at a bar stool next to Jackson. "Look, you promised me a night out a few weeks ago," Jade reminded her, though that was the day that Sean died. "You get started," she said, setting a drink in front of the empty seat. "And, I will catch up when I'm done."

"Fine," Cami agreed, though she didn't take a seat right away, excusing herself to the restroom.

"Probably not a good idea," Jackson told Jade once Cami was out of earshot.

"Probably not," Jade agreed with him. "But, she doesn't want to go home. And I don't want her working back here where she might hear that couple at the end talking about her brother," she nodded down at the far end of the bar. "Or those guys at the table in the corner wondering if she's crazy too." She made a face. "And other gross stuff, good lord." Sometimes her amazing hearing was a curse.

"I'll toss 'em out if you want," Jackson offered.

"No, I've got it," Jade told him appreciatively, Cami coming back now. Just as she suspected one of the guys from that table came over to the bar, looking like he was going for the seat next to Cami. As soon as he sat his glass on the bar though Jade shattered it, the glass falling all over the bar as well as slicing his hand.

"Whoa," Cami jumped over towards Jackson a little.

"Dude, learn to control your liquor," Jade said, making a face as she tossed him a rag for his hand. "Seriously, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, I can't serve you anymore."

"But, I'm not-" The guy started to reason that he wasn't wasted but Jade knocked him back without lifting a finger, stumbling back over the bar stools and onto his back on the floor.

"Ah, man," Marcel said, helping the guy up just to push him slightly towards the door. He wasn't new to things, he knew as soon as he walked in what Jade was doing and that the guy needed to leave. "Guess the party's over," he commented as the guy and his friends were leaving.

"Guess so," Jade shrugged.

"Hey," Marcel nodded at Jackson to which Jackson just nodded back. For Jade, as well as the peace they put in place, they faked nice as much as they could; long standing tensions ran deep though and wouldn't disappear overnight. "I didn't expect to see you here Cami," he commented, giving her a quick hug. "How have you been?"

"Tired of people looking at me like that," she quipped but then immediately felt bad. "Sorry, I just-"

"No, I get it," Marcel assured her.

"Let's talk about something else," Jade said, stealing Cami's beer to take a sip but noticed the bottle was already empty. "You're done?"

"Yeah?" Cami asked back, reaching behind the bar and grabbing herself another. She noticed Jade waving at someone coming into the bar, turning and seeing that it was Josh and someone else she hadn't met before; it was Aiden. "I'm gonna go say hi to Josh," she said, hopping up from her seat between Jackson and Marcel.

"Have fun," Jade commented as she left.

"Not too much," Marcel said under his breath, giving his sister the eye. "You really think this is a good idea?"

"At least you two agree on something," she said back, glancing at Jackson. "And, no, I don't think letting her get wasted is a good idea." Jade had a lot of feelings about drinking to deal with your feelings ever since her sister started when she was in high school to deal with her dad not being around. "But, she got booted from school for the semester and our boss isn't super keen on her coming back to work yet."

"Why not?" Marcel asked.

"Would you want Sean O'Connell's sister bar tending for you?" Jade asked, though rolling her eyes at how insensitive her boss was being. "Look, in any case, I would rather her be here where we," she motioned around to all of them. "Can be here for her. Not out there where more and more people are going to be staring at her and talking about her. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Marcel and Jackson told her.

"Good," Jade told them both.

* * *

As the night wore on Jade was very happy that she had Cami stay there that night at the bar with all them. She was finally allowed to have her space to blow off steam, to let it all out. And, with everyone else there, it was a safe space where she didn't have to worry about anyone saying anything to her. That didn't mean there weren't people looking or making comments. Jade couldn't break all of their glasses, but there was Marcel and eventually Klaus to compel some of them away not to mention Jackson and Oliver just flat out telling guys to back off.

Eventually it was closing time, though some of the group stayed as Jade had promised Cami that she would be drinking with her at some point that night. And while things had been tense for the last few weeks right now things had a relaxed, natural feeling to them. Jade knew a lot of them were doing it for Cami, mainly because she insisted as the wolves never even knew Cami before that night, but she hoped things could continue like this.

"We're gonna head out," Josh was telling Jade who was still behind the bar but drinking now as he and Aiden prepared to leave.

"See ya," Jade waved to them as they headed out the back through the kitchen as to leave the front door locked still; Oliver had already gone and Marcel was getting ready to leave too.

"I am soooo glad you guys moved here," Cami was saying to Jackson after hugging Marcel goodbye, slurring just a little. She was sipping on her drink which she thought was whiskey and coke but Jade had swapped it for regular coke awhile ago. "I think we are all," she motioned around though it was just Klaus, Jade, and Jackson left. "Going to be best friends."

"That's the goal isn't it," Klaus commented to Jade who playfully rolled her eyes at him.

"Jade is my best friend," Cami was going on to Jackson. "Did you know that?"

"I might have heard something about that, yeah," he laughed, looking at Jade who was shaking her head with a smile, switching to water for her drink.

"Jade," Cami said somewhat urgently, getting her to come stand across from her at the bar. "You. Are. My best. Friend."

"You're mine too beautiful, promise," Jade said, locking pinky fingers with her like they were kids.

"Please don't leave," Cami started off.

"Um, I'm not going anywhere," Jade laughed, wondering what gave Cami that impression. "I love this place, I love you." She nodded over at Klaus. "Plus, I don't know what the men in my house would do without me." Cami knew that they all lived together, that Jade said it was a house owned by her dad that they were lucky enough to be able to live in. Her dad was out of town a lot she thought and Cami remembered Jade saying he did "real estate stuff" in a lot of cities.

"No, Jade, please don't leave me," Cami said, tearing up as she gripped Jade's hands. "Sean and my uncle left, I can't be here by myself."

"Oh, Cam, hey," Jade said, rushing around the bar so she could be on the same side to hug her. "Honey, I promise I'm not going anywhere. Ok?" Cami just kept crying against her; Jade managed to catch her father's eye. "Your car?" she mouthed out to him and he nodded, going to get it, knowing Cami wasn't going to be able to walk home.

"What if I'm crazy too?" Cami asked as Jade was pulling away.

"You're not crazy," Jade insisted. "I promise."

"This stuff is genetic Jade," Cami argued. "I learned about it and my brother...what if I didn't see it because I thought it was normal. That really we're both-"

"Cami, hey," Jade cut her off. She wanted to tell her everything, that Sean wasn't crazy either, that it was the witches fault. Jackson was behind Cami though, shaking his head at Jade and she knew that he was right, that the truth to Cami would make things way worse right now. "I was around Sean too," Jade continued. "And there wasn't anything. You didn't miss anything or think that anything crazy was normal. And you are not crazy," she promised her again. "Ok?"

"Ok," Cami nodded to agreed with her, though she wasn't entirely certain.

"C'mon, Klaus is out back," Jade told her, helping her off her bar stool but she stumbled, Jackson coming to help by scooping Cami up.

"Thank you," Jade told Jackson as he helped get Cami into her dad's car, locking up the bar behind them.

"No problem," he assured her.

"I'm sorry that got...intense," she decided to word it.

"It's the way things are around here," he told her.

"I guess," she nodded. "I'm gonna go with them but, um, I'll see you?" she said though it sounded like more of a question.

"I'll be around tomorrow," he nodded, watching her get into her dad's car with Cami in the back, nodding at Klaus politely as they left.

* * *

"There she is," Marcel commented as Cami came into the bar late that afternoon for her shift; with her not at school right now Jade convinced their boss to let her back early. Too bad it was immediately the next day during her massive hangover.

"Shhh," Cami told him like he was being too loud for her, though she did smile. "God, I need Jade here. Her bloody Mary's are like hangover magic," she commented, a comment that made Oliver snort while drinking, almost making him choke. Cami obviously didn't get the joke she inadvertently made, looking confused.

"Wrong way," he told her, taking another drink to clear his throat; Jackson couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday," Cami was saying to Jackson now and he looked confused.

"You don't need to apologize to me Cami," he assured her, not sure why she was apologizing specifically to him.

"No, I just feel really bad," she clarified. "You and Jade were kinda hanging out and I crashed it. And I can tell you really like her so, I'm sor-"

"I. Told. You," Oliver was saying to Jackson now. "Right?" he said, looking to Cami. "Super obvious he likes her?"

"Yeah?" Cami questioned with a laugh. "I just thought...oh, is it one of those?"

"Where neither of them will admit it?" Josh chimed in as he finished his shift and went out around the bar with the others. "Yeah."

"Well, I'm sure these guys have been hounding you," Cami said, missing Marcel trying not to laugh now at what she was unknowingly saying this time. "But, I really think you should ask her out, I can tell she likes you too. Excuse me," she said, nodding at the other end of the bar where some people had shown up.

"Don't," Jackson told Oliver immediately.

"I don't get what the problem is admitting it," he pointed out to his friend.

"I didn't think you even liked her in the first place," Jackson reminded him, hoping to get his friend off his case.

"I didn't used to," Oliver agreed with him. "But I'm not gonna pretend like breaking the curse, _plus_ being able to control when we turn isn't the best thing that's ever happened. And that was her." They both stopped when they heard Cami greeting Jade as she came into the bar.

"You working today?" Marcel asked her as she went behind the bar.

"Ah, no," Jade laughed. "But I figured after last night, Cami was going to need one of these," she said, holding up the tomato juice indicating she was making her hangover special bloody Mary.

"You're the best," Cami told her, as she passed by, heading into the kitchen. She didn't know exactly what was going on with Sophie, just hearing that her niece went missing so she quit work. Good thing one of them came in during the mornings to make a big thing of gumbo, even if it wasn't as good as before.

"So, Jade," Oliver was saying to her as she started mixing. "Jackson wanted to ask you something."

"Oh yeah?" Jade laughed as she poured vodka into the glass, wondering why Jackson didn't just ask her himself; she missed him giving Oliver a look.

"Yeah," Jackson said, unable to avoid it now, though he wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't that he didn't like Jade, he really did; he was just nervous about asking her out. He remembered something Aiden said about the bonfire they were having on the full moon later that week. "I didn't know if you would wanna come out to the bonfire we're having Saturday."

"Same one you have every month?" Jade questioned.

"Right, yeah," Jackson nodded. "It's just the first one since the curse was broken, and no one has to turn, so it's a bigger deal than usual."

"Oh," Jade nodded.

"I thought it would be fun," he said quickly before she could say anything else. "But, if you don't want to-"

"No, I do," she cut him off, smiling, Cami coming back now. "I think it would be fun. But, Saturday night I'm closing with Josh."

"Oh, no, you switched with me," Cami lied. "Remember?"

"No?" Jade laughed at her.

"Yeah, I have the afternoon, but closing shifts are longer," Cami fake reminded her. "And I wanted more hours. We talked about it yesterday."

"I figured between the two of us I would be the one to remember everything," Jade teased her, handing her the finished drink. "But, all right," she shrugged. "I guess I'm in then."

"Great," Jackson told her.

* * *

Jade spent most of that night hanging out at the bar with the others from the night before, but she spent most of it talking with Jackson. She was having a lot of fun and she had to admit she was excited for Saturday. She didn't notice her dad coming into the bar but he got caught up talking with Cami anyway.

"Feeling better?" he asked her as Marcel was coming over to join him at the usual table.

"Much better," Cami nodded. "Your cousin is a miracle worker with her hangover remedy," she laughed.

"I'm familiar with her work," he said with a smile and she laughed.

"Thanks for the ride last night," she was telling him now. "I feel so bad I got sick, I..."

"It's all right," he assured her.

"You're all being so nice to me," she laughed. "I got sick in your car, I ruined Jackson and Jade hanging out-"

"What about Jackson and Jade?" Klaus asked curiously. While everyone else had been giving them a hard time about liking each other, Klaus hadn't seemed to notice; maybe he was too worried about everything else Jade was taking on.

"Oh boy," Marcel murmured to himself.

"Just I can tell she likes him," Cami shrugged with a laugh. "And he finally asked her out for Saturday, thankfully. Anyway, I gotta get back," she nodded at the bar and Klaus nodded, watching her leave. He looked over now where Jade sat at the bar with Jackson, laughing at something he had told her.

 _"Oh my God, no way,"_ he eavesdropped on Jade laughing. _"You're not serious."_

 _"I am,"_ Jackson insisted, in the middle of a story about him, Aiden, and Oliver from when they were younger, laughing as well. _"We were like sixteen, seventeen-"_

 _"Why do guys do the craziest things,"_ she was laughing still, her forehead resting against his shoulder as she was laughing hysterically. _"I'm just picturing the three of you-"_

"Hey," Marcel stopped him from listening, shaking his head. "I get you're not crazy about her dating," he said, then motioned to himself. "I'm usually not either, but Jackson's a good guy."

"Mmmm," Klaus nodded, no longer listening but looking over to where his daughter was smiling and laughing still.

* * *

"Hey dad," Jade greeted him when she got home that night; she had missed him at the bar entirely, with him leaving shortly after talking to Marcel. It was just the two of them right now, with Marcel still out with some of the other vampires and Elijah upstairs for the night.

"You're back late," he commented.

"Didn't know I had a curfew still," she laughed at him but he still looked seriously. "I waited while Cami locked up, you know we do that." It was true. If either Cami or Jade was closing alone someone usually hung around to make sure they locked up safely before heading home.

"And you walked home alone?" he asked.

"Like I do most nights?" Jade questioned, completely confused. "Except Jackson walked back with me so problem..." She was going to say _solved_ but she noticed her dad's face. "Problem identified," she groaned. "Dad, seriously?"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Ok, I'm not seventeen," she started off already. "I'm twenty-two, you can't tell me who I can and can't see."

"With everything that is going on do you really think it's the best idea to get involved with-"

"Dad, I like him," Jade stopped him. "I _really_ like him." She shook her head, going for the stairs. "Don't push this," she warned him, turning in for the night. Not one to take direction well, Klaus took to his phone to make some travel arrangements for Kelly for that weekend. Jade couldn't go out if her mom was visiting, right?

 **thanks for reading! i really hope you liked it! what do you think of jackson/jade?**

 **and what do you think kelly is gonna do when she figures out what he's up to lol leave me a review please!**


	10. Take Me Home Tonight, Part 1

**glad you all liked the last update, hope you like this one!**

 **this is going to be more about klaus/kelly i wanted to write more about just them being friends and their coparenting. next one will be about jackson/jade while this one is going on...**

 _ **Take Me Home Tonight, part 1**_

 _"[I didn't] scare boys from coming to see you," - Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

It was the big day, Saturday, the night of the bonfire. Jackson felt nervous, but he wasn't sure why. Jade said she would go and her best friend told him that she obviously liked him. And, as Aiden pointed out, it was a good idea to ask her to the bonfire first because it wasn't like a _date_ date. So, why was it as he got to the bar to pick her up he felt ridiculously nervous?

"Hey," Jade smiled at him as he came in close to the end of her shift. "I thought I was meeting you there?"

"I didn't want you driving out there and back alone so," he shrugged and that was true.

"Oh, well thanks," she smiled at the sweet gesture. "I just have to wait for Cami to get here to relieve me, so..."

"I got it, she should be here soon if you wanna tear out early," Josh assured Jade, trying not to be obvious.

"Ok," Jade shrugged, grabbing her bag. "I think I'm good then, I don't need to stop at the house or-oh my God!" she stopped abruptly, dropping her stuff and running around the side of the bar. Jackson looked at Josh in confusion, Josh just shrugging as they watched her rush to hug a woman that had come over closer to the bar, followed by a taller man with darker hair.

"It's good to see you too honey," Kelly laughed as she returned her daughter's embrace.

"What are you doing here mom?" Jade smiled as she let her mom go.

"No hug for me?" her step dad was laughing.

"Hi Theo," Jade laughed, tip toeing to give her step dad a quick peck on the cheek. "Jack, Josh, this is my mom Kelly and step dad Theo," she introduced them quickly.

"Hi," Josh nodded to greet them with Jackson saying hi as well, though getting up to shake their hands.

"So, really, mom," Jade was saying now. "What are you doing in New Orleans?"

"Well, you know how we were going away for the week," Kelly explained and Jade was aware of their vacation plans to visit Jamaica for the following week. "Our overnight layover was supposed to be out of Houston, but you're dad suggested changing it to here so we thought why not."

"Dad did that?" Jade asked.

"Mhmm," Kelly nodded and noticed Jade's concerned look. "What is it honey?"

"Well, it's just you're only here tonight," Jade explained. "But, I already," she started to motion to Jackson. And then Jackson realized why he was so nervous and was surprised it didn't hit him sooner. He didn't just have plans to hang out with a girl that he liked. The girl that he liked also happened to be Klaus Mikaelson's daughter.

"Oh, it's ok," Jackson promised.

"Well, now I feel bad," Jade went on, catching her mom's look. "...what?" she asked her mom.

"Did you dad know about your plans?" Kelly asked her.

"I mean, yeah," Jade shrugged. "But what does that..." She noticed her mom's expression. "You don't think that-"

"Honey, have you met your father?" Kelly asked sarcastically. "You go, have fun."

"Are you sure mom?" Jade asked. She really did want to go to the party with Jackson but she hadn't seen her mom in a long time.

"Jade, if your dad can change our plans so we're here, he shouldn't have any trouble changing us so we're here on our way back," she smirked at her. "Go, have fun."

"It's really ok Mrs..." Jackson started off.

"Kelly," she stopped him. "And I'm telling you, it's really ok." She smiled at him. "He only thinks he's in charge. I'll handle it."

"Thanks mom," Jade grinned, kissing her cheek as she went to leave the bar with Jackson. She ran into Cami on her way out, exchanging a quick goodbye, with Cami quietly making Jade promise to text her later.

"Hey mom," Marcel greeted Kelly as he came over to the end of the bar where she and Theo were sitting, Cami getting behind the bar for her shift now.

"Hi honey," Kelly smirked at him, hugging him quickly. She was up to date on what the lie was, that she and Jade's dad adopted Marcel before having her and that Klaus and Elijah were pretending to be Jade's cousins.

"Mom?" Cami asked in surprise. "I didn't know you were coming to town," she commented with a smile.

"Their dad set it up as a surprise," Kelly was telling her, though she wasn't overly amused with Klaus at the moment. "I'm Kelly, this is my husband Theo."

"It's so nice to meet you," Cami was telling them. "I'm Cami, I'm a friend of Jade and Marcel's. What can I get you?"

"What's your specialty?" Kelly asked.

"I make a mean hurricane," Cami smiled at her.

"Two of those then," Kelly told her.

"So, you're like a fun mom," Cami said lightly as she got two glasses out as she figured she insisted Jade go to the party as well as having her make them drinks. She's wasn't at all like Cami's mom, or any of her friends' moms she knew growing up.

"Ah, tell my two teenagers at home that," Kelly laughed and Cami laughed too. "But they're not here and I'm on vacation."

"Good deal," Cami smiled, passing her and Theo their drinks. "I'll be right back," she told Kelly, going to take care of someone else.

"Ok, so fill me in," Kelly was saying to Marcel quickly as he lead her to a nearby table, sitting across from her and Theo. "Who knows, who's what, etc?"

"Cami doesn't know anything," Marcel told her flat out. "Josh is a vampire, most of the wolves are out at the party Jade's at-"

"Which is what Jackson is?" Kelly asked and Marcel nodded to confirm; they stopped as Cami was coming over to their table to continue talking.

"You said their dad set this up, as a surprise?" Cami was asking now, having a spare moment. She was so excited to meet Jade's mom, she had heard a lot about her family but only met her brother and cousins.

"He does that," Kelly commented, sipping her drink.

"I really think it's so cool how you two still get along," Cami continued; she had told Jade this before, how her blended family was really something special.

"Oh, well we're not really getting along at the moment sweetheart," Kelly informed her, noticing Klaus coming into the bar now, saying this for his benefit as she was sure he was listening. He also seemed to be looking around for Jade, wondering where she was; Kelly couldn't wait to tell him.

"What do you mean?" Cami asked in confusion.

"Aunt Kelly," Klaus greeted her, kissing her cheek before going to sit next to Marcel, directly across from her. "I didn't know you were coming to town."

"Oh, so you don't know what your uncle did then?" Kelly asked, raising her eyebrows; he shrugged at her, playing clueless. "I guess Jade told her father about some plans that she had this evening, a _date_?" she emphasized. "And her dad, being her dad," she said in annoyance. "Set it up so I would be here, probably hoping that she wouldn't go."

"Doesn't sound like him," Klaus commented casually.

"Doesn't it though?" Kelly asked and he shrugged innocently.

"Where is Jade then?" Klaus asked now.

"Oh, I told her she should still go," Kelly smiled sweetly at him. She saw that flash of agitation in his eyes and she felt pretty pleased with herself given how he tried to manipulate their child.

"Really?" he questioned, keeping his cool though he was getting angry now.

"Like I said before, a fun mom," Cami laughed, taking Kelly's glass and heading back to the bar as things started to pick up more. "I'll get you another one, have fun!"

"Thank you," Kelly told Cami before turning back to Klaus. "And to answer you, she's twenty two, and earned a right to a little fun I think," Kelly replied simply.

"Kelly," he was saying quietly, his voice even but angry.

"Do you think we were born yesterday?" Kelly quipped. "What on earth were you thinking?"

"You just told her to go, without thinking I might have some legitimate reason for-" He was really going to try to argue that he didn't want Jade to go for her safety or protection.

"Other than being a complete control freak?" Kelly interrupted him; she turned to Marcel. "Is there something wrong with Jackson?"

"...no," Marcel answered; he got a look from Klaus. "I'm not gonna lie to my mom man," he said lightly as Cami was back now with Kelly's second drink.

"Let me ask you Cami," Kelly said, turning to her now.

"Ask me what?" Cami asked.

"We really don't need to," Klaus started off.

"No,no,no," Kelly stopped him. "I want a non-family member's opinion." She turned back to Cami. "What do you think about what Jade's dad did?"

"I mean, it sounds a little extreme, if that was even his intention," Cami laughed a little, not sure she bought someone's dad flying their mom in just to keep them from going on a date.

"I'm sure it wasn't-"

"It was," Kelly cut Klaus off, waiting for Cami to continue.

"Even if it was excessive," Cami went on, unaware of what she was getting pulled into. "His overall reaction to her dating is completely normal."

"Really?" Klaus asked, though he looked at Kelly when he said it.

"I mean, yeah," she shrugged. "It's basic psychology really. A lot of dads are used to being the number one man in their daughter's life, so when they date they know eventually one of the guys is gonna be the one to replace them."

"Interesting," Kelly told her with a sly grin. "Thank you so much Cami."

"Sure," Cami shrugged, heading back to the bar.

"Jade was right," Kelly was commenting to her husband. "This place is so much fun."

* * *

It wasn't too long after that Elijah joined them at the bar, already having known his brother's plan and warning him beforehand that it wasn't going to go over well with the women in his life. With an early flight the next morning Kelly suggested they all go back to the house, though she told Theo to go ahead to bed while she waited up for Jade to hear about her night.

"I'm not done with you," Kelly informed Klaus as she spotted him trying to get by to go upstairs. He had figured the passive aggressive conversation at the bar wasn't going to cut it with her. "What in the hell were you thinking?"

"What was _I_ thinking?" Klaus countered; he was still trying to stick with having a legitimate reason for not wanting Jade out that night.

"Marcel already told me there isn't anything wrong with him," Kelly reminded him. "So, try again."

"Did it occur to you that I didn't think it was safe for her to drive out there in the middle of the night and back after everyone was drinking?" Klaus argued.

"Valid point," Kelly nodded in agreement with him. "I guess that's why Jackson came to pick her up at the bar, because he didn't want her doing that either."

 _Oh_ , Klaus thought to himself. He hadn't known that part, he thought Kelly just told Jade to go ahead and let her leave on her own. _Even still..._

"What is your issue with this guy?" Kelly demanded. "You've never been like this before." It was true. He had never been a fan of Jade dating but he also never tried to trick her out of going before.

"I just don't think he's good enough for her," Klaus told her now.

"Oh my God," Kelly groaned, her head falling back. "I'm sorry his family didn't found New Orleans or anything," she told him sarcastically as Jade seemed drawn to founding family members when she lived in Mystic Falls. "But if this is some status thing you've got a lot of nerve-"

"I thought Jackson was the Crescent alpha," Elijah interjected now, which he obvious knew he was just pointing out to give Kelly more of an argument against his brother.

"What does that mean?" Kelly asked in confusion.

"Werewolf royalty," Marcel translated for her and Kelly turned to look at Klaus, shaking her head again.

"All right, if you're not one of Jade's parents," Klaus emphasized. "Out."

"It doesn't matter," Kelly was arguing with him, though she waved the other two good night as they went upstairs. "Because this isn't a parental conversation, because we have no say." She motioned to the door. "Our daughter is twenty-two, she's graduated from college."

"She still lives here," Klaus said, grasping at straws.

"Hit her with that and she'll move out," Kelly informed him. "Does this have to do with what Cami said?" she asked, her tone a little more gentle. She had thought it was funny when Cami pointed out about fathers fearing being replaced, but with the way Klaus was acting she was wondering if there wasn't something serious to it.

"Kelly," Klaus shook his head at her.

"Don't Kelly me," she reasoned. "Nik, that girl _adores_ you. She's adored you since she was five and you were our literal knight in shining armor. But if you try to control her, if you try to manipulate every aspect of her life she's going to end up resenting you."

"How are you so ok with all this?" Klaus asked her now.

"Because we already did the parenting thing with her," Kelly reminded him. "And I think she turned out pretty well," she said with a soft smile. "We just have to let her take it from here."

"I can't do that," Klaus shook his head.

"Why not?" Kelly asked in exasperation.

"Because what happened with her and Mason almost killed me," Klaus snapped at her. "I never felt so...so useless. Sitting there watching her cry on that bench last year..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"Do you think I _enjoyed_ that?" Kelly asked back like he was crazy. "Listening to her blast that depressing music to cover up her crying? Her asking me and Theo was was wrong with her? Or how about her deciding on an impulse that she was going to move to New Orleans?" she continued. "We're her parents Nik, we don't get to protect her from everything."

"You've yet to see me try," he informed her.

"Not _normal_ human feelings," she told him with an eye roll. "Look, I get it. And trust me, no one wants to kill Mason Lockwood more than I do. Especially when I see him around town with that girl he's dating now, ugh," Kelly was saying through her teeth. "But we don't get to control that," she repeated, getting back to focus.

"I don't want her to see him," he said again, unable to let this go.

"Too. Bad," she told him sternly. Just then the front door was opening, indicating that Jade was home. Rather than stick around, Klaus sped out of the room, leaving Kelly groaning in annoyance.

"Mom?" Jade asked as she came into the main room. "I thought I heard dad?"

"I think he's turned in for the night honey," Kelly told her though she suspected Klaus was somewhere nearby listening.

"Is he mad?" Jade asked, biting her lip.

"More like moody," Kelly said lightly. "Like your sister." Jade snorted a laugh. "Come here, sit with me," Kelly said, nodding at the couch. Kelly sat down with Jade sitting next to her, though she turned to lay so her head was against her mother's leg. "Someone had fun tonight," Kelly teased, figuring her daughter was a little drunk as she ran her hand over her daughter's hair.

"Little bit, yeah," Jade laughed, sighing as she settled against her mother's leg.

"How were things with Jackson?" Kelly asked now.

"They were great mom," Jade gushed, sitting up again. "He's just...I really like him," she told her, feeling herself blush.

"I can see that," Kelly smiled at her. "He drove you home?" she confirmed.

"Walked me to the door too," Jade corrected her.

"Oooo, well then," Kelly teased and Jade laughed. "Kiss good night?"

"Ah, no," Jade shook her head.

"Oh," Kelly made a bit of a face. "Scared?" she asked, nodding at the stairs obviously meaning Klaus.

"No," Jade shook her head again. "Because I'm, ya know," she motioned to herself. "Drunk," she admitted.

"Oh," Kelly said again, though this time pleasantly surprised. "Well, that's very respectful," she said for Klaus's benefit because again she was sure he was listening; upstairs in the hall he was rolling his eyes at Kelly.

"He's really sweet mom," she said, laying down against her mom again. "I really like him. He's not like Eric or Mason at all. He just...mmm, I don't know," she was saying sleepily.

"He sounds great sweetie," Kelly promised, urging her to sit up now. "C'mon, time for bed."

"Ok," Jade smiled at her, accepting her mom's hand as she helped her stand. Jade went upstairs without issue, her mom behind her, heading into her room and saying good night one more time before closing the door and collapsing on her bed. Kelly went around the corner where she caught Klaus standing there.

"Figured you were around," she commented sarcastically. He went to move around her to go to his room but she stepped in his way. "You're going to repeat after me."

"Kelly," he said in annoyance, trying to step around her; she moved in his path again. "Kelly, if I wanted to go around you, you know that I-"

"After me," she said again and he rolled his eyes, motioning for her to get on with it. "I will not interfere."

"Kel-"

"I will not," she started again, motioning for him to finish.

"Interfere," he muttered.

"I will not manipulate my child," she said now.

"I will not manipulate my child," he repeated.

"Because I know she is happy," Kelly emphasized.

"Because I know she's happy," he sighed.

"And my number one job as her father is to make sure she is happy," she finished.

"My number on job as her father is to make sure she's happy," he said. "Satisfied?"

"Very much so," Kelly smirked at him, kissing his cheek. "Good night Nik."

"Good night," he muttered, moving by her to go to his room finally.

* * *

"Good morning," Jade was saying as she was the last one to breakfast that morning. "I'm glad I didn't miss you," she commented to her mom, kissing her cheek as she went by.

"Car is going to be here soon," Kelly told her of their ride to the airport.

"Morning sweet pea," Theo greeted her as she pat his shoulder walking by.

"This is the most chipper I've ever seen you with a hangover," Marcel commented with a smirk as Jade sat next to him; they sat opposite her mom and step dad, with Klaus and Elijah at the table's ends.

"Guess I'm just in a good mood," Jade smirked back at him, sitting in the seat closest to her dad. "...hey dad," she said to him, wondering if he was mad at her.

"Morning sweetheart," he greeted her warmly, passing her a plate. "Got some of your favorites."

"Mmm, beignets," she smiled, taking one and putting it on her plate. "It's not my birthday," she said, though there were plenty of other times she got a special breakfast.

"No," he laughed, watching her smile; she was really happy.

"Someone die?" she joked.

"Lord I hope not," Kelly murmured, making Elijah crack a smile. "Jade, when you're done eating, something came for you this morning," she said to her.

"What?" Jade asked in confusion; no one else had seen.

"It's out on the table, by the couch," Kelly told her and Jade got up to go. "You wanna see this," Kelly nodded for Klaus to go to. He held back, though from where he was around the corner he saw Jade light up with delight at the sight of flowers for her on the table. Just then her phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Jade answered.

 _"It's me!"_ Cami laughed. _"You never texted me about last night."_

"Well," Jade was grinning. "You'll never guess who woke up to a dozen roses in her living room."

 _"Ah, yes!"_ Cami said excitedly. _"I am so jealous,"_ she laughed.

"Oh my God," Jade rolled her eyes at her as she read the card, knowing obviously who they were from but still smiling anyway.

 _"Color?"_ Cami asked.

"This really pretty yellowy orange color," Jade answered.

 _"Oh ok, not red,"_ Cami confirmed.

"Right, red's lame," Jade was agreeing with her, both girls laughing. "Listen, I gotta say goodbye to my mom and stepdad, but I'll talk to you at work."

 _"I wanna hear all about it,"_ Cami teased, hanging up the phone. Still grinning, Jade rounded the corner to go back to the table but ran right into her dad.

"Oh, sorry dad," Jade said, still smiling ear to ear, kissing his cheek as she bounced by. Maybe Klaus didn't want her dating but there was one thing for sure.

Jade really was happy.

 **thanks for reading! i really hope you liked it! the next chapter is going to take place on the same day it's just going to be about jackson/jade at the party. i just wanted to show more about klaus/kelly's relationship since they didn't have much of one in the other story**

 **let me know what you thought!**


	11. Take Me Home Tonight, Part 2

**glad you all liked the last update, hope you like this one! now onto the chapter of what jackson/jade were up to at the party...**

 _ **Take Me Home Tonight, part 2**_

 _"[I didn't] scare boys from coming to see you," - Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

"Are you ok?" Jade was asking Jackson as the party started to wind down.

She had a ton of fun that night hanging out with him, Aiden, and Oliver as well as the other wolves she didn't see as often. She knew they hadn't all been crazy about her at first but since she was really able to help them, and didn't want anything in return, they had all seemed to accept her. Without the vampires or witches at the party there wasn't any added tension and everything felt super at ease. At least Jackson seemed relaxed at most points. He'd lead her out to sit on the edge of the dock by the water since most had either turned in or were just sitting around the fire; he had wanted to hang out some just the two of them.

"Fine," Jackson nodded.

"Can I say something?" Jade asked as he sat down, legs hanging off the side. "Wait, are there alligators in there?" she asked, a little buzzed.

"No," he laughed and she sat down with him, though she kept her legs up on the dock with her, turned to face him. "What did you want to say?" he asked.

"I'm really sorry, about my dad," she clarified, rolling her eyes; she figured that's why he seemed a little uncomfortable at some points. "I don't know why he does this."

"He's your _dad_ ," he reminded her, then shrugged. "It's ok."

"No, it's not," she complained. "He's never..." She trailed off, making a big motion with her hand. "Done _that_ before, with my mom and ugh," she gave up, sipping her drink.

"So, what you're saying is I'm special," Jackson joked and she rolled her eyes again but this time playfully.

"If you wanna see it like that," she joked. "I don't know," she shook her head. "I'm sure my mom's on it now, it'll be fine...tell you a secret?" she offered.

"Sure," he laughed.

"I think my dad's scared of my mom," she laughed.

"You know, I'd believe that," he joked, smiling at her. Back at the bar he was going to say again for Jade to stay with her mom but Kelly was pretty insistent and convincing that they should go.

"Hmm," Jade laughed, finishing her beer and setting it to the side. "Maybe once I finally get him and Cami to go out he'll leave me alone."

"You don't think it's weird you're trying to set up your best friend with your dad?" Jackson commented.

"Ah, I try not to think about it like that," Jade laughed. "And, I've been trying this since before she became my best friend so," she shrugged.

"You don't give up do you," he said now.

"Rarely," she smiled at him. After all, he had seen her that summer making herself crazy to break the curse. "I just feel bad," she went on. "I don't think he's _dated_ anyone since my mom." Jackson was giving her a look. "Sorry, too much?"

"A little more than I needed to know about him, but that's ok," he assured her with a laugh, making her smile.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked after a minute.

"Sure," he shrugged.

"You're super ok with all this," she started off.

"That's not a question," he teased her and she made a face.

"What I _mean_ ," she emphasized. "Is guys are usually freaked out about my dad or just..." She motioned to herself, thinking of her last relationship and how it ended. "Just me in general."

"I'm not freaked out by you Jade," Jackson promised, seeming a little concerned. She'd clearly been hurt before.

"We're here," she continued, meaning about them being on a date. "And you trusted me with your whole pack this summer. I just...I don't get that from people normally. Where I lived before there was a whole list of rules my dad and I had to-"

"You wanna know something?" Jackson offered and she nodded. "You're not who raised you, you're not the scariest things people have heard about you." She was looking at him curiously but she didn't want to push at the same time. "I told you before, about my parents?" She nodded again, having heard along the line that Jackson's parents died when he was little so he was raised by his mom's parents, Richard and Mary. His grandfather died around the time everything started going crazy with the wolves in the 90s but she didn't know too much about it.

"You don't have to tell me Jack," Jade told him, able to tell this was a sore subject; he waved her off to say it was all right. He wanted to tell her.

"I know Marcel told you what happened out here, what happened to that family," he went on; Jade nodded quietly. "Ah, and he was right, for the longest time we didn't know who did it. But then, when my grandfather passed away, my grandma was going through his stuff and..." He motioned to her like she could figure out the rest, which she did.

"Jack, I'm sorry," Jade told him seriously.

"It was a long time ago," he assured her. "Point is, the pack knew all that and I still became alpha."

"That's why you let me help you," she realized, remembering the first time she came out to the bayou, how he was the only one willing to take a chance on her.

"Yeah," he nodded, confirming what she thought.

"Thank you," she said softly. "For telling me that."

"It's no problem," he promised; they were quiet a moment. "It's getting late, I should probably get you home."

"Oh wow," Jade agreed, checking her phone for the time. "I'm sorry it's so late," she said like she was the one holding him up; after all, he was the one driving.

"It's fine," he laughed, offering a hand to help her up.

"On the bright side," she said lightly, putting her phone back in her pocket. "I've continued my streak of not getting dragged out of parties by my dad."

"Yeah, _definitely_ getting you home," Jackson said, making her laugh as he guided the way towards his truck.

* * *

On the way back into town to drop her off their conversation went back to being much lighter like it had been earlier in the evening. After making the joke about her new record Jade recalled the story of when her dad followed her out to that party senior year when she snuck out with Eric. Jackson told her similar stories about sneaking out when he was younger and his grandmother catching him. After parking they talked for a few minutes before walking towards her place; it was clear neither of them was ready for the night to be over. As they got closer to the door, Jade could hear her parents arguing inside, involuntarily making a face.

"What?" Jackson laughed at her expression.

"K and K are at it," Jade said, nodding at the door.

 _"We're her parents Nik, we don't get to protect her from everything,"_ she heard Kelly saying.

"I think mom's winning," she said lightly.

"I only met her for a few minutes, but I don't think your mom loses often," Jackson told her and she laughed. Things fell awkwardly silent now; Jade clearly was waiting to get kissed goodnight. "I'll, um, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Oh, ok," Jade nodded; and now they were both uncomfortable.

"No, it's just that ah," he was saying quickly. "You were drinking, I don't want to um..."

"I'll just have to wait till tomorrow then," she said now, breaking the awkwardness.

"Ok," he smiled at her. "Good night Jade."

"Good night," she said as he left, letting herself into the house to go gush to her mother about her night.

* * *

The next day he was true to what he said and came to see her at work, asking her out on a real date for that night; Jade had waited and got her good night kiss that night. It wasn't long after that Jade and Jackson were spending most of their time together. They were always hanging out, either the two of them or among their group of friends at the bar.

It had been a few weeks and everyone was really happy; well, everyone but one person.

"Evening all," Elijah said though it was just Klaus and Marcel at the table; he noticed his brother's expression. "What's bothering you?"

"Do not ask," Marcel begged.

"Do you think it's normal that Jackson is here again?" Klaus pointed out as Jackson was there while his girlfriend was working, Jade standing at the end of the bar talking to him while she had a spare moment. "Seems obsessive," he continued.

"You're obsessive," Marcel said flatly, Elijah chuckling.

"You don't get to laugh because you don't have a daughter," Klaus reminded his older brother.

"No," Elijah nodded in agreement. "I do have a niece though, who I've helped take care of since she was five."

"Elijah," Klaus complained; this wasn't the first time Elijah would point these things out to him.

"Who I am very happy," he continued, undeterred by his brother. "Has met someone who cares for her, makes her smile, treats her with respect..." He trailed off, looking at his brother. "I could keep going?"

"I would call her mother if I wanted this type of lecture," Klaus informed him sarcastically.

"She's more fun than you these days," Marcel tacked on, finishing his drink. "I gotta go check in on Davina, I'll see you."

"Goodbye," Elijah said, Klaus just waving him off. "Do not do it."

"Don't do what?" Klaus asked curiously.

"Whatever it is you're thinking of doing or saying," Elijah told him, making him roll his eyes. Klaus was going to say something back but he noticed Jade coming over now; he also noticed Jackson seemed to have left which brightened his mood as well.

"Hey Lijah," she greeted him, handing him his usual. "Hi dad," she smiled at him. "Need anything else?"

"I'm all right sweetheart, thanks," he told her.

"Ok, I gotta get back," she nodded at the bar. "It's crazy in here tonight, I don't think I'm gonna get a chance to eat."

"I'll bring you something later," Klaus promised.

"Thanks dad," she grinned at him, heading back to the bar. Klaus took his time finishing his drink with his brother, Elijah noticing his better mood since Jackson wasn't at the bar anymore but not saying anything about it. Just as Klaus was getting ready to go though he noticed Jackson back at the bar, bag in hand, waving Jade over; Klaus couldn't help but listen in.

 _"What's this?"_ Jade laughed, taking the bag from him. It was a sandwich and fries from her favorite take out place around the corner. _"Aw, thank you baby, that's so sweet,"_ she said, kissing him quickly; Klaus cringed at the use of pet names.

 _"I figured you're crazy in here, I didn't want you starve on top of it,"_ he reasoned.

 _"You're seriously the best,"_ she said, kissing him again before putting her food behind the counter.

"Don't do it," Elijah warned against whatever it was Klaus was thinking again, breaking his concentration in listening. Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother though he was finding one thing increasingly difficult; there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Jackson to say that he and Jade shouldn't be together.

 **thanks for reading! :) i really hope you liked it! i'm glad everyone has been enjoying overprotective daddy klaus!**

 **i know this one was a little shorter, the next one about their relationship will be much longer. i've actually managed to get ahead and have a few chapters written. hope to hear from you about this most recent chapter! :) :)**


	12. Somebody to Love

**thanks so much for the reviews! glad you all liked the last update, hope you like this one!**

 _ **Somebody to Love**_

 _"[I didn't] scare boys from coming to see you," - Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

"Morning dad," Jade was grinning, coming down the stairs that morning. She certainly seemed to be doing a lot more of that these days, smiling all over the place; Klaus couldn't quite complain about that, though he still wasn't so thrilled about why. Jackson hadn't grown on him any further over the last few weeks, despite what Elijah would continue to point out to him. He also wouldn't admit to what Kelly thought, which was Cami's theory about dad's fearing replacement having something to it.

"Good morning sweetheart," he said as he watched her grab her bag. "Do you work today?"

"Nope," she told him. "But, I'm helping Jackson move." She missed the face her father made, forgetting this whole time that Jackson planned to move closer to New Orleans, even before they got together.

"You're helping him move?" Klaus questioned from where he sat on the couch.

"Yeah, he finally found a place," Jade was saying as it had been some time. "It's between here and Rousseau's, isn't that great?"

"Super," Klaus said sarcastically and she caught his tone, turning to give him a face. "What I meant though was you're the one helping him move? Doesn't he have..."

"What?" Jade asked with raised eye brows, hinting her dad was being sexist as he probably assumed Oliver or Aiden should help.

"Someone else he could ask?" he finished. Without saying anything Jade lifted the couch he was sitting on with just a wave of her hand. "Point taken sweetheart," he informed her and she put him down.

"What is it dad?" Jade asked, reading his expression.

"I hardly see you anymore, that's all," Klaus pointed out.

"I know," Jade said, feeling a little bad. After all as she had gotten older her and her dad became more like friends; before the werewolves came back she spent a lot of her time with him and Marcel. "But," she started to point out. "If you didn't avoid Jack like the plague..." She trailed off, giving him a look.

"He's not the plague," Klaus said now.

"Mmmm," Jade nodded. " _I_ already know that."

"Well, I miss you," Klaus admitted, trying to get away from the subject.

"I know," Jade admitted again. "I miss you too."

"We'll do something later," he decided as they hadn't set aside any time for just the two of them in recent weeks. "When will you be back?"

"Um," Jade said, uncomfortable now. It really wasn't a set plan or anything but she didn't exactly anticipate coming home that night; her dad seemed to pick up on that.

"Forget that I asked," Klaus assured her, also uncomfortable.

"We'll do something this weekend," Jade said quickly, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Bye dad."

* * *

"Thanks for helping out today," Jackson told Jade as he brought the last box in, kicking the door shut behind him; Jade was in the kitchen putting dishes away.

"Sure thing," she smiled at him as he stood on the opposite side of the counter from her. "I hope you don't mind, I kinda just started putting stuff away."

"I'll figure it out," he laughed.

"I'm just glad we got everything in here," she commented, opening a drawer to put silverware away.

"Yeah, just feels a little bit like cheating," he laughed, meaning how they used her magic to get most of the furniture up there.

"It's not cheating," she smirked at him. "It's...taking a short cut on an otherwise pain in the ass activity."

"Pain in the ass?" he laughed.

"Yeah, you're just really lucky I like you," she grinned at him.

"Very," he agreed, leaning over the counter to kiss her once.

"I just hope my magic doesn't mess with Davina too bad," Jade said now, going back to putting stuff away while Jackson opened another box. Davina, of course, could sense magic in the French Quarter and who was practicing it. Since she was part of the French Quarter coven she obviously had a higher sense and therefore reaction to those in her coven that tried to practice. That didn't mean Jade's magic wouldn't throw her off though.

"When do you go see her again?" Jackson asked. She and her brother took turns every week going to see her. Marcel was more for fun visits, bringing over movies to watch and magazines and such to catch up on. Jade was a little more serious as they worked on Davina controlling all the magic she had.

"This weekend," Jade told him, noticing his expression. "What?" she laughed.

"Nothing," he shook his head but he was smiling at her. "I just think it's really great that you do that."

"She's really sweet," she said back, stopping what she was doing and watching him unpack. "And...I know how scary all that magic can be so," she shrugged it off like it was nothing, but she had warned Jackson that sometimes it could trigger a panic attack in her without warning, that when she was younger stuff would go flying but she had gotten better at keeping it down as she got older.

"Sounds like you've kind of adopted her," he said sweetly.

"Well, her and I are getting along a lot better than me and my sister right now so," she said, rolling her eyes as she turned back to what she was doing.

"Still not talking to you?" Jackson asked. He knew that there were issues with her sister, that the older they got the more Vicki seemed to resent Jade because her dad was around while Vicki's wasn't. Maybe it wasn't right but Jade was the one there for Vicki to take her frustrations out on; she only seemed to get worse when Jade moved away like she had been abandoned or something.

"Matt called me last night, he thinks she's using again," Jade sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration. "I don't...I don't know what else to do to help her. There's no magic I can do," she started to list off. "The only thing my dad can seem to do is heal her so she doesn't OD. Compulsion doesn't work. She won't ever talk to me about it, like it's my fault or something."

"People with those kinds of issues need someone to get mad at, someone they know loves them and won't leave," he told her and she shrugged. "What, Jade?"

"It might be my fault," she admitted. "...indirectly," she clarified.

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked curiously.

"Everyone thinks that my dad showed up and their dad got scared, took off jealous or whatever," Jade rolled her eyes. "There's only a few people that know what actually happened." Jackson waited for her to continue, not pushing or prodding. "My dad came to Mystic Falls because he could sense me." Jackson nodded, familiar with that werewolf sense. If Klaus had been around Kelly more after their initial meeting he probably would have been able to sense she was pregnant and even what the baby's gender was. "When he got there he found my step dad hitting my mom," she finished the story, letting him piece together what happened.

"Sounds like he had it coming," he reassured her.

"From where I hid in the closet, I can assure you he did," Jade said, trying to be light but the conversation was anything but. "Vicki would hate me though."

"Well, your secret is safe with me," he promised, kissing her again; she gave a soft smile though she clearly wanted to change the subject. "Where were you going to put those?" he nodded to some larger bowls, giving her the change she wanted.

"I figured they wouldn't get used much, so I was going for up there," she nodded at the top shelf of the cabinet she had open. "But, ah," she motioned to herself. "I'm a little too little," she said, making him laugh.

"I got it," he promised, coming around the counter and taking them from her to put them up top, having to lean over her a little in the process.

"Excuse you," she laughed, pushing him like he was too in her space, though of course she didn't mind.

"Yes?" he laughed, putting a hand on either side of her to box her in.

"You're in my way," she informed him in a fake serious way.

"Am I?" he asked, picking her up to sit on the counter, making her laugh in the process.

"That didn't help," she laughed as he kissed her.

"Didn't it?" he asked, kissing her again.

"I don't know Jack," she was teasing him between kisses. "There's still so many boxes around here..."

"They can wait," he said, kissing her again.

"Your mess for later," she murmured against him, giving up their game and kissing him more now. Finally alone in his own place things were able to get a little more heated than they usually did. "Hey, mmm, Jack?" she said softly as he had moved to start kissing her neck; he pulled away from her.

"I'm sorry," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. "Did you want me to stop?"

"...no," she admitted; why was she blushing? she wondered to herself but then realized how nervous she actually was. Though she had gone out on a handful of dates since she moved to New Orleans between Mason and Jackson she hadn't actually been with anyone since Mason. "I was actually wondering um...if I could stay here tonight." She was nervous and Jackson could tell.

"Yeah, of course," he assured her, touching her hair. "Are you sure baby?"

"Absolutely," she said, kissing him again. She felt him sliding her off the counter before carrying her over to his room.

* * *

"Hey!" Cami greeted Jade as she got to the bar the next afternoon for their shift together. "How was moving day?"

"It was fine," Jade shrugged it off casually as her brother and dad were sitting at the bar talking to Cami. She was glad her dad at least wasn't hiding at the corner table like usual these days, but she figured that was because Jackson wasn't there today.

"Wait, look at me," Cami said, looking her over as she dropped her bag; she could tell something was up.

"Cam," Jade complained, hinting at the fact that her brother and who Cami thought was her cousin were sitting there.

"Ah," Cami gasped quietly, knowing Jade wouldn't want to talk too loudly about it with the guys there; she also knew it was the first time Jade stayed over with Jackson though. "I wanna hear all about it later," she said softly before going over to help someone else; Jade nodded, heading over towards her dad and brother.

"I'm going to meet your uncle," Klaus said, clearly uncomfortable about all this; Jade didn't blame him. "We're still going to dinner tonight?" he confirmed as they did finally set time for just them.

"Definitely," she nodded as he left.

"Awkward," Marcel felt the need to announce as he sipped his drink, making her roll her eyes.

"Should have been there yesterday when he asked when I was going to be home," Jade added on now and Marcel made a face, knowing how hard Klaus was being about all of this.

"I don't want to pile onto what he's doing," Marcel said, fully letting Jade have her space on this because he knew that she was happy. "But, if he does ever hurt you I will have to kill him."

"I think you would have to get in line," Jade said lightly, taking his drink to steal a sip. "He's a really good guy Marcel."

"I know," Marcel nodded reassuringly. "That's why I don't anticipate having to kill him."

"Ok," Jade laughed, rolling her eyes at him again, this time playfully. "Thanks Marcel."

"I'm always on your side Jade," he promised. "Your dad is too it's just..."

"Way more uncomfortable, yeah," Jade stopped him. "Trust me, I know."

"He'll come around," Marcel said, finishing his drink as he prepared to go too.

"Mmmm, yeah," Jade nodded in agreement though she wasn't so sure.

* * *

Naturally as their relationship progressed, Jade and Jackson managed to spend even more time together. Much of that time ended up with her staying at his place, which her father was naturally not too thrilled about but as many liked to point out to him (her mother, his brother, Marcel) there really wasn't anything to be done to stop it. And as Kelly pointed out, much to his irritation, it wasn't like Jade never stayed over with the other boyfriends she had before.

Not that Jade wanted her dad to go away or anything but she did feel a little more liberated while he and Elijah were out of town, gone again to Mystic Falls because the Mayor insisted there were vampires in town but they were struggling to figure out who they were. Jackson had taken her out to dinner after work before they started to make their way back to his place; that's when he stopped.

"Oh no," he groaned, his head falling back.

"What?" Jade asked curiously.

"You know how Olli was having those issues with his place?" he asked and she nodded, recalling how Oliver was due to move into his new place but thanks to a mix up with the landlord it wouldn't be for a few more days. "I told him he could crash at mine so he didn't have to take everything back out to the bayou."

"So...he's up there couch surfing?" she asked.

"Mhmm," Jackson nodded.

"Mmm," Jade nodded with a face; they had really wanted to stay together that night. "Well, hey, you could come to my place."

"I don't know Jade," Jackson was saying. It wasn't like he was worried about Klaus or anything as he knew Jade wouldn't ever let him do anything. It was more of a respect thing though as it was seriously obvious Klaus had an issue with the relationship.

"They're out of town," Jade told him now.

"Oh," Jackson nodded.

"Ok then," she laughed, leading the way towards her home.

No sooner did they get there did they find themselves upstairs in her room, closing the door quickly behind them. As they started kissing Jade found her way back to her bed, laying down as Jackson moved over her. As they were kissing though she stopped him.

"Everything ok-"

"Shh," Jade told him; they were no where near upstairs but she had heard her dad and uncle coming back through the front door, talking to Marcel. "They're home." She was on the same page as Jackson where, no, there was no reason for him to be afraid of her dad or anything but she wasn't looking to put salt in a wound by having him there over night.

 _"Jade?"_ her father said once he was upstairs, knocking on her door gently.

"Hey dad," she said quickly. "I, um, just got out of the shower," she lied and Jackson shook his head at her trying to keep from laughing. It was one of those times maybe laughter wasn't the appropriate response but that's what he had.

 _"All right, well I just wanted to say good night sweetheart,"_ he started off, remaining on his side of the door. _"We'll talk about Mystic Falls in the morning."_

"Sure thing!" Jade called, with Jackson still over her as moving would make too much noise. "Night!" It sounded like he started to walk away but he turned back.

 _"Jackson,"_ he said now and Jade's eyes closed in frustration; of course he knew. He always knew. He knew when she snuck out to see Eric, he knew when she had been hiding Mason in her closet once before when he came to see her at school. _"Will you be joining us for breakfast?"_

"Ah...yeah," Jackson answered awkwardly. "Wouldn't miss it."

 _"Great, good night,"_ he said as he was finally leaving.

"Night," Jackson said though Klaus was gone, moving away from Jade now to lay next to her.

"Oh my God," Jade was half laughing half complaining. "I am _so_ sorry."

"It's ok," Jackson assured her, propping up on an elbow next to her.

"No, it's not," she said, covering her face, embarrassed. "You shouldn't have to deal with this."

"Maybe not," he shrugged. "But, you're worth it." She was giving him a look. "I'm serious Jade," he promised. "I love you."

"...what?" she asked, turning towards him now; she definitely wasn't expecting that just now after what happened.

"I love you," he repeated, smiling a little.

"I love you too," she said back quickly, kissing him again.

* * *

"Good morning," Klaus greeted Jackson as he came to the table alone that morning; Klaus was there alone as well.

"Morning," Jackson greeted him.

"Where's Jade?" he asked.

"Sleeping still," Jackson answered. "I wanted to talk to you, if you don't mind."

"All right," Klaus agreed, motioning for the seat across from him; he waited for Jackson to start.

"I know that you're not exactly crazy about me," Jackson said bluntly. "And that's fine," he admitted. "I don't have any daughters or even sisters or anything to know what that's like."

"Would you mind passing that along to my brother," Klaus said lightly as Klaus thought Elijah had a lot of opinions on Jade dating though he wasn't her father.

"I'm sure it's not easy to trust her with someone else," Jackson agreed. "But, ah, I guess I just wanted you to hear it from me that I wouldn't _ever_ hurt her."

"No?" Klaus suspiciously confirmed; of course he had to say that. You wouldn't walk up to your girlfriend's father and say _by the way this probably won't end well._

"No," Jackson told him seriously. "I'm in love with her Klaus," he said now. He never doubted that Jackson was a good person, he just didn't want anyone dating his daughter. This little conference though was changing a few things for him. After all, Mason never talked to him like this and Eric had surely been afraid of him.

"Are you now?" Klaus asked him.

"Yes," Jackson said without hesitating. "I'd never do anything to her, never let anything happen to her-"

"I do appreciate you coming here and telling me this," Klaus said sincerely. "But, she's still my daughter, my only child."

"I know," he nodded in agreement. "And I don't know exactly what happened," he continued, never prying Jade on what happened in her past relationships. "But, I know the last guy kinda did a number on her. That she has this thing where she thinks something is wrong with her."

"Which is ridiculous," Klaus cut in.

"I agree," Jackson assured him. "But, ah, can I be honest with you?"

"Why stop now?" Klaus asked.

"You acting super paranoid about us," Jackson started to explain. "Being on edge that the same thing is going to happen to her again...it probably makes her think that it will too."

Klaus was silent. He never really thought that his paranoia about her dating would translate over to her that he thought the same things would keep happening to her because of what happened last time. Now that it was brought to his attention though it certainly made sense.

"You've been spending a lot of time around Cami," Klaus said lightly though he felt extremely guilty if he made Jade feel that way.

"She's Jade's best friend so," Jackson half laughed though they were quiet again. "I just want us to be ok, for Jade," he clarified.

"That's something I can agree with," Klaus said, again respecting that Jackson came to him like this, offering his hand for a shake.

"Ok, am I still dreaming," Jade was saying as she came into the room still in her pajamas, yawning a little. "Or, are you two friends?"

"Just agreeing on our common interest sweetheart," Klaus assured her as she sat next to Jackson.

"All right," Jade grinned, happy they were finally going to be getting along.

 **thanks for reading! i hope you liked it, let me know what you thought! how do you like jackson/jade as their relationship has gone on? what about jackson/klaus's talk? more soon!**


	13. Come With Me Now

**thanks so much for reviewing, i really hope you like this! it's going to focus on how things are different since klaus came into jades life earlier, meaning her dynamic with her siblings is going to be a lot different as well, some of which you've already seen...**

 _"Jade, if I knew about you, I would have come. I would have taken you away from there," Klaus said._

 _"And Vicki and Matty?"_

 _"And Vicki and Matt," he promised. Klaus and Jade, Look After You, Chapter 24_

 _ **Come With Me Now**_

"Hi," Vicki said abruptly as she got to the bar, interrupting Josh and Aiden talking while Josh was working that afternoon. Since last night Vicki had only one thing on her mind and that was confronting her sister as she had found out what really happened to her dad. She was sure Jade had to know what happened this whole time and was wondering how she could keep that from her.

"Um, hi?" Josh said in confusion, looking back at Aiden who shrugged.

"I'm looking for my sister," she started off.

"Are you even old enough to be in here?" he joked.

"Her name's Jade Donovan," Vicki said flatly, unamused by his comment, even if she was only eighteen. "Doesn't she work here?"

"Ah, I know Jade Mikaelson," Josh offered and Vicki rolled her eyes, having forgotten her sister changed her name. "She's in the-" He was motioning over his shoulder to the kitchen.

"JADE!" Vicki shouted, walking behind the bar.

"Yeah, sure, come on back," Josh muttered.

"Vicki?" Jade asked in confusion as she came out of the kitchen, spotting her sister behind the bar. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Did you know?" Vicki snapped at her.

"That it's Tuesday and you should be in 6th period by now?" Jade asked sarcastically. "How did you even get here?"

"Don't change the subject," Vicki told her, having swiped her mom's credit card last night and catching a flight to New Orleans that morning. She was fairly certain her mom still thought she was at school. "Did you know about your dad and mine?" Jade had no idea what to say.

"...who told you about that?" Jade asked finally, figuring her facial expression gave her away.

"Oh my God, Jade!" Vicki exclaimed.

"Can we not do this here," Jade asked, looking around. While Josh and Aiden were the only ones nearby to hear, others were bound to start trickling in. "Josh, can you," she motioned around as she was supposed to be the one letting him go.

"Yeah, go," he nodded reassuringly, watching her leave with her sister.

"Any idea what that was about?" Aiden asked.

"No clue," Josh said uneasily. "Can't possibly be good though..." He spotted Jackson coming in now, Aiden waving him over. "Hey, you just missed your girlfriend," he told Jackson as he took a seat next to Aiden.

"I thought she was working tonight," Jackson said, thinking he might have mixed up the days.

"She was, but then her sister showed up?" Josh said, still not sure what all happened there. "She was freaking out about her dad, Jade took her back to the house."

"Oh no," Jackson muttered, knowing what Vicki found out, heading out of the bar. He had never met Jade's sister but he had heard enough to figure that this wouldn't go well. Sure enough as he showed up at the Mikaelson home he could hear screaming coming from the next room, walking over to where Elijah was sitting on the couch. There was no need to eavesdrop as the girls were loud enough on their own.

"How bad?" Jackson was asking Elijah as he sat across from him.

"Ah, unfortunately," Elijah was saying. "Each girl got her own father's temper."

 _"Seriously, who told you about this?"_ Jade was demanding of Vicki.

 _"It was Mason, are you happy?"_ Vicki snapped at her.

 _"What the hell are you doing talking to Mason?"_ Jade asked.

 _"What, he dumps you so I'm not allowed to talk to him anymore?"_ Vicki fired at her sister; at least Jackson had a name now for the guy that hurt her. _"And, seriously, don't change the subject. How long did you know?"_

 _"I just found out last year,"_ Jade admitted, having found out officially from her dad the night she admitted to him about her breakup with Mason, though as she said that night she had long suspected it. _"It's not like I knew this whole time,"_ she reasoned. And, furthermore, she wasn't sure how Mason even knew as she never discussed her suspicion with him. Maybe from his brother or someone else on the counsel?

 _"That doesn't matter!"_ Vicki screamed. _"You should have told me."_

 _"What, and see you react like this?"_ Jade asked. Jackson nodded at the door to Elijah as if to ask if they should intervene; Elijah shook his head, knowing the girls had to hammer this out, as ugly as it might get.

 _"Are you saying I'm over reacting?!"_ Vicki snapped.

 _"That's not what I said,"_ Jade sighed heavily. _"I just didn't want you to be hurt-"_

 _"Well, too late for that,"_ Vicki cut her off. _"I am hurt. I've been hurting since I thought my dad just bailed on me."_

 _"It's not too far of a stretch,"_ Jade finally snapped at her; the reason most people in town thought Matt senior had bailed was because it was a truly believable story.

 _"Nice Jade,"_ Vicki told her sarcastically. _"At least my dad never killed anyone."_

 _"No, he just beat the hell out of our mother,"_ Jade emphasized, standing up for her dad now. _"You remember her, right? Or have you been too stoned to notice?"_

"Oh no," Elijah murmured as the fight was escalating.

 _"You are such a bitch!"_ Vicki shrieked. _"You have no idea what it was like, having your dad around while mine was off some where. Allegedly,"_ she added on.

 _"No, you're absolutely right Vicki!"_ Jade shouted back. _"I have no idea what it's like to have a tough time growing up, you have cornered the market on personal pain."_

 _"Cry me a freaking river,"_ Vicki mocked her. _"I'm so sorry you felt 'different',"_ she said, using finger quotes. _"But get over it, you at least had a freaking support system."_ She motioned to her. _"And then you turned around and ditched us."_

 _"Oh come off it Vic,"_ Jade told her. _"I didn't ditch you."_

 _"No? You just moved to New Orleans, changed your name,"_ she was listing off.

 _"I'm not a Donovan!"_ Jade shouted at her. _"And-"_ She stopped abruptly, catching herself.

 _"And what?"_ Vicki asked through her teeth.

 _Don't say it,_ Jackson was mentally begging out in the main room, knowing her werewolf temper was getting the best of her. He heard Elijah on the phone assuring Kelly that Vicki was here now that she knew her daughter ditched school as well as seeing the charge on her credit card.

 _"And thank God I'm not,"_ Jade finished for her.

 _"What, are me and Matty not good enough for you anymore?!"_ she snapped; Vicki sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

 _"Would you stop putting words in my mouth?"_ Jade asked in exasperation. _"It has nothing to do with you or Matt but you have no idea what it was like in that town for me Vicki. You have no idea what it was like for everyone to look at me like that constantly. Was I supposed to stay there and take that? After all that, and after how Mason made me feel?!"_

 _"And here we are, back to you,"_ Vicki motioned to her as if her sister was the one that always needed to be the center of attention. That, of course, wasn't true but since she had her dad that was often how Vicki saw it; Jade got everything.

 _"Oh my God,"_ Jade groaned. _"Vicki."_

 _"What?"_ Vicki snapped.

 _"Just get out,"_ Jade finally told her, opening the door that lead out to the main room for her. Jade had enough of her sister throwing those things in her face, knowing exactly what button to press to make Jade feel like hell over something that wasn't even her fault.

"Fine, I will," Vicki told her as she grabbed her bag, preparing to leave. "Probably better I do before your paternal genes take over," she muttered just loud enough for Jade to hear.

"Yeah, I guess paternal genes would explain your drug problem then," Jade snapped at her, tired of taking Vicki's crap. And that was it.

Vicki dropped her bag, turning to take a swing at her sister. She had missed but soon enough the girls landed on the floor, exchanging swats and swings. Some of the hits landed, some of them didn't. It seemed like it had been awhile but really in a second Elijah and Jackson were up to break up the fight.

"Hey, hey," Jackson said, grabbing Jade around the waist and yanking her away from her sister.

"Ladies, enough," Elijah was saying as well, pulling Vicki to the side. "Jade, upstairs. Vicki, you need to call-"

"Forget this, I'm out of here," Vicki said, wiping the blood from her lip before grabbing her bag again.

"Vicki," Elijah was insisting.

"No, let her go," Jade said as she herself was marching upstairs. "And don't come back!"

"No problem _sis_!" Vicki shouted at her as she left, slamming the front door; not two seconds later did Jade's bedroom door slam. Even though she was angry and Jackson figured Jade might try to kick him out anyway he went up to her room, gently knocking before letting himself in. Rather than seeing her angry or throwing something like he expected she was pacing her room, sounding like she was having trouble breathing.

"Jade?" Jackson asked gently; she turned to him, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

"I...I can't," she was trying to say but she was pacing nervously. "I can't breathe," she was trying to say.

"Here, sit down," he tried to get her to sit on her bed but she shook her head.

"No, it's my bracelet," she was explaining and he noticed it for the first time. He remembered her saying something about a bracelet her aunt had made her as a child to help control her magic but she didn't wear it regularly anymore. He realized she must have put it on so she didn't explode at Vicki. "It, mmm," she said taking a deep breath. "It already makes me feel kinda stuffy but with this on top of it..." She was making big motions with her hands, continuing to pace.

"Take it off, if that'll help," Jackson assured her but she quickly shook her head.

"No, because my...magic," she swallowed hard. "I don't want...to hurt..." She was having a hard time getting anything out but he realized she was worried about hurting him now too.

"Jade," he said gently, at least persuading her to sit with him. "Baby, it's ok," he promised, reaching for her bracelet. "I can handle it, if this will help," he assured her, undoing the clasp and sliding the bracelet off. The lights flickered, a few things fell off a nearby shelf. "Shh, see?" he said, gently touching her face. "Not even that bad."

"I can't believe she said those things to me," Jade was saying, more tears sliding down her cheeks; a few more things nearby flew.

"I know," Jackson nodded.

"She knows how I feel about all that...that stuff," she was struggling as she teared up.

"Shhh, baby I know," he said soothingly and sure enough things around them started to calm down. "I know, but she was upset." He didn't say it, but Jade had said some stuff too because she was upset that he knew she didn't mean.

"My sister thinks I'm a freak too Jack," Jade said, new tears forming, but thankfully the magic based panic attack was under control.

"What do you mean _too_?" Jackson asked. "Jade, if you're talking about that town or your ex or whoever, none of that matters because it's not true."

"Jack."

"There is nothing wrong with you Jade," he stopped her. "I'm sorry people spent so much time making you think that there is, but there isn't."

"She's my sister," she started off.

"And you didn't mean any of the stuff you said to her," he said finally. "Right?" She silently nodded in agreement. "All right," he agreed, kissing her forehead.

 _"What the hell happened in here?"_ she heard her father asking downstairs, seeing the mess she assumed was from the fight as well as things probably flying in other rooms due to her panic attack.

"My dad's here," Jade said, wiping her eyes, wanting to go downstairs and talk to him. Jackson nodded, taking her hand and leading the way out of her room; Klaus had already started upstairs, meeting them in the hall that overlooked the main room.

"Jade, sweetheart, what happened?" Klaus asked worriedly. "Your mother left me a broken up message, something about your sister being here?"

"Ah, yeah," Jade said, crossing her arms over herself self consciously. "I guess she ditched school to come pick a fight with me."

"Over what?" he asked. He knew things had gotten really tense with the girls over the last few years, but nothing to this degree.

"She knows about Step-Matt," she said softly and Klaus's eyes went wide.

"Why would you tell her about that?" he asked as that was the only explanation.

"That would be a question for Mason," Jade quipped; as she expected her father looked infuriated. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly," she agreed with him.

"He's already lucky to still be walking," Klaus said and she nodded silently. From what Jackson could now gather was that Mason was the guy that hurt her and he figured it ultimately had something to do with what she was, making her insecurities even worse. "Jade," he said, his tone changing now as they had a bigger focus. "You need to call your sister back here."

"I'm not calling her," Jade said stubbornly.

"Jade," Jackson was saying gently as they had just talked about how they hadn't meant what they said to each other.

"No, I'm not," Jade told them seriously. "If she wants to come here and blow up on me over that then she's going to have to want to come back on her own." She waved her hands as she started to back up towards her room. "I'm done with it."

"Leave her," Klaus told Jackson as Jade went back to her room, closing the door. "Unfortunately, she gets that from my side."

"So I hear," Jackson nodded, recalling Elijah's comment about both girls tempers.

"She's at least enough like her mother that she'll come around to it," Klaus assured him. "We just can't push her." Jackson nodded in agreement, following Klaus's lead to go downstairs and give Jade a little bit of space. Back in her room, she was on the phone but it wasn't with her sister.

"How much do you hate me?" Jade was asking her younger brother.

 _"I don't hate you Jade,"_ Matt assured her.

"Did Mason get to you too?" she asked sarcastically as she sank onto her bed on her stomach.

 _"No, Vicki told me last night,"_ he clarified. _"If I knew she was going to take off I would have warned you."_

"Well, thanks," she sighed.

 _"Mason has been acting really weird lately,"_ he went on. _"I know it doesn't make up for what he did, but something's definitely up."_

"Noted," Jade rolled her eyes as she turned onto her back. "Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

 _"I get why you didn't tell me Jay,"_ Matt assured her. _"I can't say I was really shocked, after the way Klaus has looked out for all of us. I don't know,"_ he shrugged. _"I never looked for dad to come back or show up at my games or anything. I think it's different for Vic because she always thought he would."_

"I guess," Jade agreed.

 _"You should call her next,"_ Matt told her though he knew she wouldn't.

"Mmm," Jade nodded; she was glad they both knew she wouldn't. "Bye Matty."

 _"Bye Jay,"_ he told her as they hung up.

 **thanks for reading! so...i know it was sad...what did you think? especially with how different everything is from the other story where vicki/jade were really close? let me know your thoughts!**

 **also if anyone likes supernatural/criminal minds i started a short crossover called "no ordinary life" if you want to check that out! :)**


	14. Somebody That I Used to Know

**_i really hope you all enjoy this next update! i've had this idea in my head for awhile and have been working up to it, there's going to be 3 parts...let me know what you think!_**

 _"He knew sooner or later someone from his past was going to come for his daughter," line from Look After You, chapter 29_

 _ **Somebody That I Used to Know**_

"Hey, happy birthday!" Jade grinned as she greeted Oliver as he came into Rousseau's alone, planning on meeting the other guys there. They were starting out there then they were going to go out in the French Quarter on some sort of bar crawl since it was the first birthday any of them had since they weren't under the crescent curse. She had heard about it all week, knowing they were excited; it made her happy they got to do normal things like this.

"Thanks," he told her as she sat a drink in front of him. "You coming tonight?"

"Ah, I can't," Jade sighed. "I was going to, but I owe Josh from last week with my sister." Oliver nodded, hearing some of the story about the incident from Jackson, though not all the details. "Plus, with him and Aiden being official now, they should get to go as a couple," she added on.

"Man, why does everyone pair off with the bartenders here?" he was joking. "It's not even that great of a bar," he said as he took a drink.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he heard Jade say, clearly annoyed.

"Hell, I was kidding," he said like it should have been obvious.

"Not you," she rolled her eyes at him and Oliver noticed another guy had come over to the bar next to him, someone he hadn't seen before.

"Can I talk to you Jade?" he was asking sincerely, looking apologetic.

"No, Mason, you can't," she snapped at him. "You don't get to do what you did, then show up here and-"

"I know you're upset about your sister," Mason cut in.

"Upset?" she scoffed at him. "I'm _pissed_. You-"

"Are you ok Jade?" Oliver was asking, meaning he would toss Mason out if she wanted.

"I really just need two minutes," Mason was saying at the same time. Jade looked between the two of them, seeming to weigh her options. After everything, having Oliver throw Mason out certainly had it's appeal. On the other hand...

"One minute," she informed Mason, motioning for him to follow her to the other end of the bar, away from the door.

"Who's that?" Cami asked as she came over towards Oliver's side of the bar, nodding at Jade off to the side with Mason.

"Never met him," Oliver shrugged. "Said his name was Mason?" He noticed the face Cami made. "What?"

"That's her ex," Cami said, still making a face, indicating it was messy. After all, Jade had admitted to her that the break up was what fueled her decision to leave Virginia, though she didn't know the cause of the break up. Cami also knew that something happened with Jade's sister recently, some big family secret that Mason spilled, but she left it alone as to what that secret was seeing as Jade had been so upset.

"Ah, and Jack's gonna be here soon," Oliver said. "This'll go well."

"Really, Jackson doesn't strike me as the jealous type," Cami commented casually as she put away a few glasses.

"We're all the jealous type," Oliver told her and she laughed thinking he meant guys in general but he meant it fell under the category of their werewolf tempers. Over on their side, the argument between Jade and Mason was just picking up.

"What are you even doing here?" Jade was asking him, crossing her arms over herself.

"I was on my way to Florida," he started off.

"And you got lost?" she asked sarcastically and he gave her a look.

"There's a group of us on our way there, I was supposed to meet some wolves on their way from Texas in Baton Rogue," he continued to explain. "I wanted to switch it to here so I could see you."

"Why are you going to-"

"I triggered my curse Jade," Mason cut her off, aggravated. Since he wasn't part of the pack she freed he wasn't going to be able to control when he turned. She felt bad for him for a brief moment, until it flooded back to her everything that he did to her.

"I see," she nodded. "And after killing someone you just felt it was ok to run your mouth about everyone else's victims?"

"I'm sorry things blew up with your sister," he started off.

"Blew up?" she laughed at him cynically. "She dropped out Mason, no one can find her." It was true; her mom finally convinced Jade to try to reach her sister when she never came home. There was no answer and Jade couldn't even track her, meaning she found some other witch to hide her. "Things were hardly ok between me and her to begin with and you-"

"Do you really want to know what happened?" Mason cut her off, his voice raising as he was getting annoyed. "I was driving through town late and I saw her stumbling around." Jade shook her head as that unfortunately sounded like her sister. "I didn't want to leave her alone so I picked her up, told her she could sober up in my jeep then I would take her home. She started crying about her dad not being around...and I don't know..."

"This wasn't a _the truth is always the answer_ moment," Jade complained, her tone angry against his annoyed one. "And certainly not coming from you."

"Look, in case you forgot," Mason told her. " _I_ was the one you used to come to about her, _I_ was the one that you used to cry to about wanting to fix her. This wasn't the first time I had to pick her up in the middle of the night."

"You're right," Jade agreed with him. "Except I was _there_ all of those times. I wasn't there last week and you had no right. You don't get to get involved in my family's business anymore because you-" She started to accuse, pointing a finger.

"Hey Jade!" Cami called to get her attention. Jade realized the argument had probably gotten to where other people around the bar could hear, namely Jackson who had shown up by now and looked pissed. She figured pretty quickly that Cami was getting her attention to keep things from escalating. "Your regulars are here," she said with a smile though her eyes practically screamed _get over here_.

"Here," Jade said, setting a beer in front of Mason. Did she want him to stay? Not particularly, but Matt was right something was definitely up with Mason, something other than him triggering his curse. With him showing up out of no where she felt that it was better to keep an eye on things.

"You're good if I stay?" he questioned, having mentioned to her he planned to meet his group there.

"Stay, leave," she waved him off as she walked off. _Drop dead for all I care_ , she silently thought. Maybe allowing Mason to wait there though was a mistake as she really got a read on Jackson's expression as she got closer. She never really took him for someone that would fly off the handle but she guessed it would take a certain push for anyone to get that way. In this case it was Jade's ex-boyfriend showing up at her work to argue with her.

"Hey," she said as she was slipping out from behind the bar, pulling him over to the side with her. He kept looking over to the table on the far side of the bar where Mason had settled with some guys he seemed to know. "What's with, look at me," she was saying as he wasn't listening to her. "What's with you?" she asked gently.

"You're not serious," he told her. He wasn't sure how else to phrase it without coming off meaner to her than he meant to. After all, while he thought she was crazy for letting him stay it wasn't her he was getting angry at.

"I know," she told him understandingly, keeping her voice low. "I know, but something isn't right."

"Um, yeah," Jackson said as though the problem was obvious. She didn't think Mason being around her would get to him this much. She wondered if he heard what Mason said about how he was the one she always went to before about Vicki's issues.

"Other than that," her eyes fluttered with an eye roll. "Look, after everything that's happened he's _here_. He's around me, he knows my dad is in the city. Does that sound like someone with their head on right to you?" Jackson didn't answer. "My brother said he's been acting super weird. I don't know what it is, but something isn't right and I'd rather him be here than off somewhere else."

"That makes one of us," he muttered; Jade had never seen him like this before.

"Jackson, I-"

"Jade, I'm sorry but," Cami was calling out to her, motioning that she did need help as things behind the bar were starting to pick up.

"I mean it Jack," Jade was saying quickly but quietly to finish up. "You guys pick a fight with those wolves and it'll just take one smart ass vampire to point out werewolves fighting each other again, then this whole thing we worked for will be ruined." He realized she was right as she went to go back behind the bar, helping Cami further down with a bachelorette party that had just shown up; that didn't mean he had to like that she was right though.

"What about smart ass vampires?" Marcel said lightly as he showed up to the bar, greeting Jackson and his friends; he then spotted Mason with his group. "Ah, what's he doing here?"

"That'd be a question for your sister I think," Aiden commented since Jackson still looked pretty agitated by the whole thing, jaw clenched.

"Uh huh," Marcel nodded skeptically, looking to get his sister's attention. "Jade!"

"I'm busy Marcel!" she called back, not realizing what he wanted. "You know where everything is!"

"Not that," he said though he had come behind the bar with her and Cami. "You know it's my night to check in with Davina."

"That girl you're mentoring?" Cami asked as she passed by, having heard the name before.

"Ah, yeah," Marcel nodded, trying to keep up with the lies. "What's Mason doing here? And with all his limbs still attached?" Jade rolled her eyes at him now.

"If anyone is tearing Mason's limbs off, it's me," she informed him simply as she was able to take a step back for a second; he was looking at her seriously. "Look, Marcel, I appreciate _everyone's_ ," she emphasized, dipping her head around her brother to eye her boyfriend and his friends who were able to hear. "Concern. But, something isn't right, so I would rather him be here. Besides," she motioned to the end of the bar where her guys were. "I send them out there then they run into these guys on their bar crawl and I'm not around to break it up."

"You _actually_ think I'm going out now?" Jackson asked her like she was crazy and she was giving him a look of annoyance.

"Are you guys...fighting?" Oliver asked; they both gave him a look to shut up.

"Something isn't right," Marcel agreed with her. "You remember that..." He wasn't able to say blood with so many more people around. She had given him some of her blood because, like her father, she could cure werewolf bites as well as turn hybrids. While things had been peaceful that last few months it didn't mean there wouldn't be a wolf somewhere to decide to bite her brother or one of his friends; he had her blood in vials on standby just in case.

"That stuff you gave me," he settled on the term and she knew what he was talking about, motioning for him to continue. "Well, some of it's missing."

"Ok," she said, coming closer to him and the rest of the guys so she could lower her voice. "Let me make sure I have this all straight. Showing up here, already stupid enough, but now you think he's also stolen from _you_?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Think about it Jade," Marcel pointed out to her. After all, it would make sense. Steal the blood, turn into hybrids, and they would be stronger than the werewolves in New Orleans. Turn enough of them and...

"What I think is you're going to be late to see Davina," Jade said, getting her brother out from behind the bar. "I've got a handle on this, all right?" she asked and without waiting for an answer she went back to doing her job with Cami.

"For what it's worth," Cami was saying as they were clearing off a few empty glasses, throwing them in to wash. "I think they're being sweet."

"You and I have different definitions of sweet," Jade said lightly as she then took someone's order for shots, setting out the glasses and getting them ready.

"What I mean," Cami said once Jade was done. "Is they know that guy really hurt you and they don't want it to be unanswered."

"It's been well over a year," Jade reminded her, indicating she was over it. After all, she was with Jackson now. What should she care if Mason was in this bar or not?

"Not since the stuff with your sister," Cami reminded her and Jade just waved it off; she didn't want to talk about it. "Did I tell you my uncle is back in town?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No," Jade said in surprise. It had been months since anyone had seen Kieran. She was sure her brother had given him a heads up about the church, but still... "That's...good right?" Jade asked, remembering how upset Cami had been when he took off.

"I mean I guess," she shrugged. "But, it's all still so...raw," she settled on the term. "Jade."

"Yeah babe?" Jade asked, turning to her but Cami nodded for her to look forward and Jade followed her gaze. She wasn't sure who instigated it, though she had a pretty good idea, but Jackson and Mason were in the middle of a confrontation. Something was said about needing to leave; something else was said about Jade being all right with him staying. Words were exchanged but ultimately what did it was Mason admitting that he missed Jade.

 _He really has lost_ , Jade couldn't even finish her thought as the first punch was thrown.

"Jack!" Jade shouted at him, wanting it to stop.

"N,n,n,n,n,no," Cami blocked her from leaving from behind the bar. They were fighting, the guys Mason was with were fighting, Aiden and Oliver were in it with them; it was an entire mess.

"Marcel," Jade was motioning for him to go break it up.

And while he had largely been staying out of it because he wanted nothing more than to see Jackson beat the hell out of Mason he did realize enough was enough and someone else in the bar might get hurt. Going over and breaking the two of them up he shoved Mason in the general direction of the door. Once they were apart the rest of the fighting seemed to dissipate as well, the guys he was with leaving as well. Marcel nodded that he was going to go, one because he had to go see Davina and two because he wanted to make sure the guys really left. Jade's _regulars_ as Cami had referred to them earlier made their way back over to the bar now.

"...hi," Jackson said as he sat in front of Jade, lip busted but nothing else too bad.

"Hi," Jade said tiredly, handing him some ice wrapped in a clean towel. Yes, he would start healing soon, but that was more for Cami's benefit since she expected them to need something like that after the bar fight.

"You're gonna need some too," Cami said, handing ice to Aiden now as he sat down, Josh just arriving. "That's gonna bruise," she commented about his eye.

"You feel better?" Jade was asking now though she wasn't sure why she was so cross. After all, Cami was right; he just did this because he cared.

"Not as much as I thought I would," he admitted.

"What did I miss?" Josh was asking.

"What happened in here?" Klaus was asking at the same time as he came into the bar, tables and chairs still knocked over, some glass from fallen drinks scattered on the floor.

"Mason was here," Jade answered him with a fake smile. "One," she pointed at Jackson. "Plus two," she motioned at the door where Mason had left. "Equals," she made a big sweeping motion in front of her at the mess.

"Mason was here?" Klaus asked, trying the door but it was stuck; Jade had obviously locked it so he couldn't leave.

"Take it as an omen," she informed him, grabbing a broom from beside the kitchen door so she could start to clean up the glass. Klaus came to sit next to Jackson, patting his shoulder appreciatively as he sat; that was probably the nicest gesture he'd given him.

"She'll get over it," he murmured.

"Don't encourage him," Jade said just above a whisper so her dad would hear, with him shaking his head.

"Jade, I'm sorry," Jackson was saying as he went over to where she had started sweeping. "He was here and I know how much he's hurt you and I just..." He trailed off with a shrug. "I don't know." He held out his hand to try to take the broom from her. "I can get it," he told her.

"It's ok," she said with a weak smile. "On both counts." She nodded ahead. "Can you guys just fix the tables please?"

"Yeah," he nodded, motioning for the other two to help him fix the knocked over table and chairs.

* * *

After the initial excitement of the bar fight wore off people began trickling in and out again like normal. With their own fight between them over, Jade was left to wonder what it was exactly that Mason was doing there and if it really was that he was just crazy enough to show up there with his friends after everything that had happened. Why did come there? Was it to start something with Jackson?

In any case, the rest of the night was going smoothly. Marcel had messaged Jade that Davina was doing well and that she looked forward to their next magic lesson. She was also happy to see her dad and Cami having a nice conversation at the end of the bar. Right now, she was trying to convince Jackson that it was still all right that him and his friends went along with their original plans to go out.

"I really don't have to go," Jackson was saying; he was clearly worried about Mason coming back, this time angry after the fight.

"Yeah, you do," Jade laughed. "He's your best friend and it's his birthday." She made a dramatic face. "And from what I hear none of you ever got to have a real twenty first birthday or whatever," she was teasing.

"I know, but," he was starting off.

"It's fine," she emphasized, resting her hand over his. "And besides," she nodded down at the bar where her dad was. "I think we can take him," she smiled sweetly.

"...ok," Jackson gave in, though he was smiling as they had all been looking forward to Oliver's birthday. "I'll be back at closing," he said to compromise with her, not wanting her to walk home without him, even if her dad was going to be there.

"Fine," she agreed, kissing him once. "Have fun."

"I will," he said, getting up from his seat. "Love you."

"Love you too," she said as she watched the four of them get ready to go.

"Bye Jade!" one of them called.

"See ya!" another said.

"Have fun!" she said, then paused as they were half way out the door. "No more fights!" she called and they laughed as the door shut.

The rest of the night went on just as nicely and Jade was relieved that she hadn't heard of any other fights that night; maybe Mason and his group already left town. Though Cami wasn't scheduled to stay late that night with Jade she stayed anyway, with them having their rule that if one of them closed the other one stayed to make sure they weren't alone. That night she really didn't seem to mind staying as she and Klaus were really seeming to click that night. As the last customer left and Jade locked the front door, she turned to the other two.

"You guys should get out of here," Jade was telling Klaus and Cami.

"We have our thing," Cami reminded her about closing alone.

"Yeah, but I've got this," Jade assured them.

"Jade," Klaus was saying seriously. After all, he still wasn't too thrilled about Mason being in the city, whether he was still there or not.

"Look," she said, checking her phone for the time. "Everywhere else is closing up around now, my security detail should be back any minute," she joked.

"You're sure?" Cami asked.

"Gooo," Jade dragged it out, making a suggestive face at Cami. Her friend laughed, rolling her eyes though she hugged her good night, Klaus following her out the back through the kitchen. Feeling pretty satisfied with herself, Jade started to clean up around the bar as she waited for Jackson to get there. She started with setting up the chairs closest to the door before making her way closer to the bar.

Out of no where, she wasn't feeling well. It wasn't like she was nauseous or anything, but she did feel dizzy. She stopped at a table for a second to steady herself, hand to her chest as her breathing didn't feel quite right. If she didn't know any better it would be like she was wearing her bracelet as it was the same stifling feeling. Getting used to it now and brushing it off she went back to work. When she turned and saw someone behind her though, she jumped.

"Hell, Mason!" she shouted, throwing a dish rag she had at him. "You scared me," she accused angrily.

"Sorry," he shrugged; Jade wondered if Cami forgot to lock the back door behind her.

"Look, I don't know what's going on with you," she stated, picking up the nearest chair. "But my boyfriend is gonna be here and we all saw what happened..." She trailed off. "Mason?" she questioned, studying him. "MASON!"

* * *

"Marcel!" Davina shrieked suddenly, jumping in the air.

"What, D?" Marcel asked worriedly, looking her over. They had been sitting on the floor watching a movie on the laptop Marcel had for her. "What is it, what's going on?"

"I think Jade's in trouble," she was saying, getting up quickly. "It's Jane Anne...I don't know where she is..." She was trying to concentrate. "She's casting a spell on Rousseau's."

"What kind of-"

"It's a boundary spell, no one in or out," Davina was explaining quickly, then tears formed in her eyes. "Marcel, I don't think she can use her magic. She's in real trouble."

"Ok, hey," Marcel was saying gently though he felt like he might explode. "I'm gonna go over that way now, all right? I'm gonna keep her safe, you work on finding where Jane Anne is for me, yeah?" She nodded quickly. "Ok," he agreed, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before taking off out of the attic.

* * *

What had snapped in Mason she wasn't quite sure, but Jade knew he was there to kill her.

He must have help from the local witches because there was no way out of the bar for her and, even worse, she couldn't use her magic. She figured the witches would come after her at some point; after all, if she was dead, the cloaking spell on Davina would be broken. They had found someone she wouldn't suspect of really trying to hurt her and got him to help them. How? Again, she wasn't sure, but as she slammed the kitchen door shut and locked it, that wasn't what was on the forefront of her mind. Escape was the only thing she was thinking of. If she couldn't get out, maybe someone else could get in, she thought as she was using her phone for the first moment she had to call Jackson.

"Hey Jade, sorry we're," Jackson started off as they were running late, having been on the opposite end of the French Quarter. "Whoa, what?" he asked, the others looking at him in concern. "Baby, slow," he was trying to say but she was talking too quickly and there was a ton of back ground noise.

Something about not being able to use her magic? Did she just say Mason was there? Was someone banging on the door?

"Jade-"

 _"MASON'S GOING TO KILL ME!"_ she screamed and they all heard loud and clear, taking off running in the direction of the bar.

 **what do you think?! did you see that coming? what do you think is next? leave me a review if you would be so kind :)**


	15. Somebody That I Used to Know, Part 2

**thanks so much for the reviews! :) we're getting closer to seeing what's been going on...**

 _"He knew sooner or later someone from his past was going to come for his daughter," line from Look After You, chapter 29_

 _ **Somebody That I Used to Know, Part 2**_

Jackson had always thought that time passed slowly when he and his friends were stuck in their wolf form. Days felt like weeks and weeks felt like months as they waited for the next full moon. No time had ever passed so slowly though as it did right now as seconds felt like pure torture as they realized they weren't able to get inside of the bar.

They tried everything. They used all their strength to push themselves against the door, throwing things at the windows to try to break them, nothing. All they could do was desperately try to get inside all while hearing Jade screaming, running room to room to dodge her attacker. There were going to be plenty of people wanting to go after Mason over this but they were going to have to get in line behind him; he was going to tear the newly torn wolf to pieces.

 _"JACK!"_ she screamed from inside.

"Hold on Jade!" he called back and something inside crashed, with him now trying the back door again with every ounce of strength he had. He barely noticed Elijah getting there, but when he saw him he was a sight for sore eyes. Maybe he would be able to break inside.

"Marcel called me," Elijah said, trying the door now but even his strength was no match for the boundary spell that contained his niece. As soon as he mentioned him Marcel appeared as well.

"It's Jane Anne," he was saying quickly, hearing Aiden and Josh on the other side of the building trying the windows. He distantly heard Oliver saying he thought he heard someone calling the cops but none of them really cared. "Davina's trying to track her but a spell this big-"

"She has to be near by," Elijah finished for him and Marcel nodded, some of his friends nearby coming over as they heard all the noise. "All right, vampires split up, find the witch doing this," he said and they all raced in different directions, leaving Jackson, Aiden, and Oliver to continue to try to break into the bar. Elijah briefly wondered where his brother was, not knowing Marcel already tried but couldn't reach him. Searching for Jane Anne took priority though as they all looked nearby to find the person responsible for Jade's torment.

Again, it felt like hours when really it had been a handful of minutes. Jackson had run around front again with the others, trying the door there this time as though that would be different. He could still hear Jade scrambling, screaming, _"MASON STOP!"_ While he was sure he would never get the sound of her screaming out of his head what came next was far worse; deafening silence.

"Jade!" he shouted again, trying the door again and this time it opened. He figured someone had found Jane Anne and killed her; it was true, Marcel finally tracking and killing her, calling Elijah once he was done because he was sure other witches knew. As he and his friends went stumbling through the door of the bar they heard nothing. With the main part of the bar empty they figured Jade must have run into the kitchen again. Jackson could vaguely hear Aiden saying the cops were there and he was gonna talk to them but he wasn't concerned.

He was pretty sure his heart stopped because at this point the safe bet was that Jade was seriously injured or worse, she had been killed.

The wave of relief he felt when he saw her bolting out of the kitchen was like nothing he ever felt before, with her not spotting him or Oliver at first as she kept looking over her shoulder for Mason to follow her. He caught her in the middle of the room and with her not realizing who it was coupled with what just happened to her, Jade started to struggle.

"No!" she shouted, fighting against him.

"Jade, whoa, it's me!" Jackson said, trying to catch her hands as she was fighting against him. She stopped a second as she took in that he was there, throwing her arms around him.

"Oh my God," she was breathing heavy, not crying yet because she was too in shock.

"I'm gonna," Oliver was saying, nodding at the kitchen that he was going to go find Mason.

"He's mine," Jackson was telling him, though he was trying to get Jade to look at him. Even if he wanted to hold onto her forever after what just happened he did need to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Jade, here, baby look at me," he said, pulling away but holding her arms to steady her. She just kept shaking her head, still not really comprehending what all had happened. "Did he hurt you?"

Mason was there. Her ex boyfriend was there. And he had tried relentlessly to kill her. She couldn't focus for anything.

"Baby, are you _hurt_ anywhere?" Jackson was trying to get her to focus, noticing blood on her shirt, gently touching her waist. She didn't wince and he wondered if she already started to heal.

"N-no," she was stuttering. Yes, Mason had been there. And while her mind was trying to process what he did to her she also was flooded with the all too recent memory of what she had done to him.

"Are you sure?" Jackson was asking her seriously, trying to look her over still.

"Jack, it's not mine," Jade blurted out quickly. "It's not...oh my God," she was saying, her body shaking. Jackson saw Oliver coming out of the kitchen, the look on his face confirming it; Jade had killed Mason.

"Ok, it's ok," he promised, pulling her close again and she held onto him like he was a life preserver. "It's all right," he promised, kissing her head. "I'm gonna take you home," he murmured into her hair. "Take you home, you can clean up," he was saying, rubbing her back, resting his chin on her head. "It's ok now," he promised.

* * *

Without knowing what was going on, Klaus was having a great night. He walked Cami home after Jade had shooed them from the bar, with her inviting him upstairs to have another drink. Leaving his jacket and therefore his phone by the door he sat on the couch with her, listening to soft music and enjoying a drink as well as her company. Just as he was about to lean in to kiss her, her phone started ringing wildly on the table.

"What the," she was saying, seeing that it was her uncle. "Uncle K, it's 2 am what-"

 _"Where are you?"_ he was asking worriedly.

"Home," she answered, confusion in her voice and he let out a sigh of relief. "What's going on?"

 _"I heard about someone breaking into the bar tonight,"_ he explained. _"I called the police station, all they could tell me was the bar tender was blonde-"_

"Is Jade ok?" Cami was asking worriedly, locking eyes with Klaus who was up now, going to get his phone. Sure enough he had missed multiple calls from Marcel and Elijah. None were from Jade and he felt like he was going to be sick. One night, the _one night_ he left when he shouldn't have.

"My uncle didn't know anything," Cami said as she came over by the door, which had been the truth; all Kieran knew was that there had been an attack. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," Klaus told her quickly. "No, I want you to stay here where it's safe," he explained and she nodded in understanding.

"Call me as soon as you know anything," she told him and he nodded, hurrying out the door, dialing Jade as soon as he got outside. Thankfully, the phone answered after one ring.

"She's with me," Jackson said right away, knowing Klaus would be freaking out at this point. He felt bad about not calling him sooner but at the same time getting Jade to a safe place was more of a priority to him.

 _"Oh thank God,"_ Klaus was saying as he let out the biggest exhale of relief, stopping momentarily on the sidewalk. Never in a thousand years had he been so scared. _"Where are you?"_

"I brought her back to my place," Jackson explained and Klaus turned onto the appropriate street. "I was going to take her home but she really wanted to change..." He had already discarded her shirt and jeans that were covered in Mason's blood.

 _"Change? I,"_ Klaus wasn't even sure where to begin. _"I...what happened tonight Jackson?"_

"From what I can tell so far?" Jackson offered as he sat on the couch, hearing Jade in the shower still. "Mason teamed up with the witches here, why I don't know," he said before Klaus could ask. "Jane Anne cast a boundary spell that also kept Jade from practicing magic and Mason tried to kill her."

 _"Are they-"_

"They're both dead," Jackson informed him. "Marcel found Jane Anne, he's dealing with the witches right now while Elijah comes up with a story with the cops."

 _"What happened to Mason?"_ Klaus asked, figuring Jackson had gotten a hold of him. Maybe Jackson wasn't so bad after all he was thinking to himself.

"Jade triggered her curse tonight Klaus," Jackson said quietly.

 _"...you're not serious,"_ Klaus was saying.

"I don't think the witches thought she could take him without her magic, but turns out," he said, hearing Klaus on the other side of the door and he hung up, going to answer it and let him inside.

"Where is she?" Klaus was asking, relieved she was all right but worry still plaguing his voice.

"Still in the shower," Jackson told him though they heard the water stop. "She's still kinda in shock," he said, keeping his voice lower. He had been working hard not to smother her since they left the bar, afraid of somehow making things worse. "So, just..." He made a motion like take it easy on her; Klaus just nodded, both hearing the door open.

"Just a second," Jade said, seeing her dad there, her still dry hair piled on top of her head while she slipped into Jackson's room with her towel around her. She emerged a moment later wearing one of Jackson's flannel shirts and a pair of leggings she left in a drawer of clothes she had there. "...hey dad," she said softly.

"Sweetheart, come here," he said, taking her to hug her. He thought, _so much for not smothering her_ , but she seemed to welcome the embrace as she was hugging him tightly back, her breath a little shaky but she still wouldn't cry. "Were you hurt?"

"I'm healed already," she murmured against his shoulder, pulling away now. She had had her share of bumps and bruises from the confrontation; any blood she washed away had been Mason's.

"I am so sorry," he was telling her, noticing how she crossed her arms over herself self consciously. "I should have been there, should have answered your brother and uncle-"

"Dad, it's ok," Jade insisted; she wasn't upset with him.

"It's not," Klaus said and he intended to do whatever he could to make things right.

"I just want this night to be over," she murmured, rubbing at one of her eyes. "What's that expression about two am?"

"Nothing good happens after two am," Jackson answered, a line often quoted by his grandmother.

"Mmm, well it's gotta be uphill from here," she said, collapsing on the couch, taking her head in her hands.

"Jade," Klaus said after they were all quiet a moment, his daughter removing her hands to look at him. "I know a lot has happened tonight, and that's why I would like it if you stayed at home the next few nights." He motioned to Jackson. "Obviously, Jackson is more than welcome to stay as well."

"It's fine," Jade nodded in agreement, preferring not only her own bed but also a house filled with her dad, uncle, and brother as well as her boyfriend. She still hadn't moved though, feeling a lot slower, like her mind was taking awhile to catch up after it had been racing before.

"We'll need to call your mother in the morning," he pointed out to her and she groaned, head falling back against the back of the couch; Jackson had gone to grab a few things, planning on staying at Jade's for a few days.

"Can we not?" she complained. "She's still snapping out about Vicki running away."

"Do you think she won't hear about it from the mayor's office?" he questioned her but immediately regretted his choice of words as Jade's eyes became sad. "I will take care of it," he assured her, Jackson arriving back in the room.

"Thanks," she murmured, standing up now. As she reached for her phone on the table it starting buzzing, lighting up with Marcel's name.

"Hello?" she answered, exhaustion in her voice.

 _"Hey, how are you feeling?"_ he asked first.

"Fantastic," she said sarcastically, feeling bad then for being mean. "Sorry," she immediately said.

 _"You're good,"_ Marcel assured her. _"I'm gonna earn it here in a minute,"_ he muttered.

"What?" Jade asked, confused.

 _"Look,"_ Marcel was explaining, getting it out before he changed his mind. It wasn't the greatest plan but it was all he had; unfortunately, Elijah was there and agreed with him that this was their only resort. _"We've been going through witches for the last hour, we're coming up with nothing. The way I see it, the way you described him acting, he was either hexed or compelled."_

"My money's on hexed," Jade pointed out to him. After all, they could have hexed him like they had with Sean, using a cursed object so there wouldn't be any magic for Davina to sense.

 _"But we can't tell for sure,"_ Marcel reminded her. He also didn't immediately point out how Matt said Mason had been acting strangely for weeks. _"None of the witches are talking."_ Jade realized what he was implying. _"Davina can't come out, it's still not safe for her."_ Before Jade could answer, her father snatched her phone from her hands.

"Absolutely not Marcel," he said angrily, remembering how he hadn't been thrilled with either of them after their stunt when Sean died. Jade barely slept for two weeks after that incident, the darkness of his hex haunting her.

 _"We don't have any other choices,"_ Marcel reasoned. _"Mason and Jane Anne are both dead, there isn't a witch talking."_

"Make them," Klaus said through his teeth.

 _"Don't you think I tried?"_ Marcel argued. _"She's my sister, after what happened to her..."_ He shook his head. _"We need to know what happened, know who we're up against. If he was hexed, it was him and the witches. If not? There's a third player."_

"Marcel, after last time," Klaus started.

"I'll do it," Jade stopped him, Marcel hearing.

"Jade," Jackson was saying seriously.

"No, I need to do this," she said, grabbing her bag then taking her phone from her dad. "We'll be right there," she told Marcel before hanging up.

* * *

As they arrived back at the bar, Jade knew that this was probably a mistake by the sinking feeling in her stomach. Things hadn't gone so smoothly last time with Sean and she didn't have quite the traumatic connection to his death like she did with Mason. Regardless, she, Klaus, and Jackson made their way there.

Klaus felt sick at the sight of the mess of the bar, far worse than when the werewolves had been fighting there before. Tables, chairs, and bar stools were all strewn about. Glass was shattered from bottles that Jade threw in Mason's direction to slow him down. He nearly lost it at the sight of a smear of blood on the far wall, wondering if it was hers or Mason's.

"You don't have to do this Jade," Jackson was telling her, her brother and uncle standing outside the kitchen doors where they had the police leave Mason for now until their own investigation was done.

"No, it's fine," Jade promised though she was wringing her hands as she walked into the next room. Wanting to be there for her but also wanting to give her room the others seemed to stop at watch from the doorway. "Ok," she let out a deep breath as she knelt down to her knees, holding her hands out over Mason, eyes closed as she focused. While she didn't necessarily want to sense the hex that took over him she would prefer that to the other options in the long run.

"Well," she sighed as she sat back against her feet, still kneeling on the floor. "Probably, bad news but there's no hex."

"You're sure?" her dad asked.

"I can try again," she offered, reaching out her hands again. That's when Mason sat up suddenly, gasping. "AH!" Jade screamed, jumping nearly a foot in the air, feeling herself being caught by someone. She thought it must be Jackson but she saw him in front of her, pinning Mason to the wall; it was her dad behind her with his arms around her to steady her.

"Explains where that blood went," Marcel commented, though it was mostly to himself.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now," Jackson was saying to Mason.

"Jack, don't," Jade was saying. Obviously, they needed Mason, but tensions were high and tempers were flaring.

"Because I know who's after her!" Mason shouted, shoving Jackson off of him. "Jade, I'm so-"

"We're waiting Mason," Klaus told him as he let his daughter go.

 **thanks for reading! :) please review! hit me with your guesses as to who was trying to get mason and the witches to kill her ;)**


	16. Somebody That I Used to Know, Part 3

**_thanks for the reviews! :) you'll get your answers now!_**

 _"He knew sooner or later someone from his past was going to come for his daughter," line from Look After You, chapter 29_

 _ **Somebody That I Used to Know, Part 3**_

"Jade, I am so sorry," Mason was saying again as the room waited for him to continue with his story. He had just woken up and was in transition thanks to the vial of blood he had taken before going into the bar after Jade, though none of it was by his choosing. The vials had been stolen and given to him as he was forced to go to the bar for a second time.

"Mason," Elijah was saying now. "I think I speak for everyone when I say you're on borrowed time already."

"Can you just," Jade was saying, motioning for Mason to get on with the story. It was nearing three in the morning now and she could barely stand to be around him after everything, especially as she saw his bloody clothes. She was grateful Marcel at least got rid of the knife she had used. Just the thought of what happened sent a chill down her spine.

"I was compelled," Mason started off, the compulsion gone as he was transitioning, able to tell them everything. The entire thing had been set up, from him going to the bar that first time to attacking her the second time around. And that was just what happened today.

"Aren't founding family members born with vervain in their system?" Jade was saying to him with a hint of sarcasm. Maybe it wasn't his fault but she was going to take this out on someone, feelings building up for the first time as she was in the bar again. Him being compelled just didn't make sense to her. Klaus kept a constant supply of vervain going in that town, even after they had gone.

"Except I stopped taking it after I went missing a few months ago," Mason said like he should be reminding her but by her expression he realized she had no idea. "You didn't tell her why you went to Mystic Falls?" he questioned Klaus and Elijah now, looking between them.

"I didn't think your whereabouts would concern her," Klaus told him simply.

"When was this?" Jade asked, completely confused, looking to her dad now. "Was this when you two went after Coach Tanner died? When I..." She was saying, motioning to Jackson to indicate when she broke the curse; that seemed like forever ago as it had been several months and so much had changed.

"It was that time," he answered her. "His brother called after Tanner died and it seemed like Mason was missing." He motioned to Mason. "We found the vampire responsible and we were told he came back, that it was a misunderstanding about him taking off for a weekend."

"I think we can safely establish I was compelled and lying," Mason said sarcastically; Jade had to catch her dad by the arm.

"You still haven't told us by who," Jackson reminded him angrily.

"It was my _girlfriend_ ," he said, though his tone implied air quotes around the word girlfriend; Klaus vaguely remembered Kelly saying something once about seeing Mason around town with a new girl and wanting to kill him over it. He reached for his phone in his back pocket for proof, looking for a picture. "While I was missing she waited until the vervain was out of my system and started compelling me from there. The vampire you thought killed Tanner was just a set up," he said, handing his phone to Klaus.

"Oh God," he said quietly when he looked at the woman in the picture, standing next to Mason at the Founder's Party.

"Who is that?" Jade asked, peering over her dad's shoulder; she had no idea who that woman was. Without answering he passed the phone over to his brother who's eyes looked equally shocked.

"Sage," Elijah said softly, placing the phone to the side on the counter, looking to his brother now.

"Who?" Jade asked again, looking at Marcel but he was equally confused; with him being as old as he was she figured at least he might know. Neither of them had seen her or heard her name before though.

"Our older brother Finn," Klaus started to explain, his mind racing as he tried to piece together how this could have happened. "During his short time awake he only turned one vampire." He motioned to where the phone was laying. "Sage."

"Finn?" Jackson was asking, looking at Jade. "The one that..." He made a motion meaning towards her house; he knew about the coffin in the basement.

"Yeah, that one," Jade murmured, running her hands through her hair. How had this even happened, how did they get here? Her uncle's girlfriend, who had to be close to 900 by now at least? Why? And the even bigger question, why _now_?

"She's responsible for everything," Mason was continuing to explain. "And me telling your sister about her dad? She's the one that made me tell her."

"...what?" Jade asked now.

"It was supposed to be a distraction, keep you all busy," he went on. "If you were worried about what was going on with Vicki and where she went off to then you wouldn't be paying attention to the witches getting ready around here. Same thing with the fight earlier," he added on.

"Where is my sister?" Jade demanded.

"I honestly don't know," Mason told her and she shook her head at him. "Sage approached the witches here, they knew they would get caught but they figured with you gone..."

"They could find Davina," Marcel finished for him and he nodded. "Who were those guys with you earlier?"

"Just random guys she compelled," Mason shrugged. Jackson remembered something Oliver said earlier in the night about how those wolves were pretty easy to take on, almost too easy; turns out they were even wolves at all, so that made sense. "We were supposed to act like we knew each other, that we were all heading to join this pack in Florida. That way I had another reason to be around here."

"So, either way she wins," Jade was saying. "Because either you killed me and she gets revenge or whatever. Or I kill you, you transition and tell us everything, and we keep looking over our shoulders for her."

"I guess so," Mason agreed with her. He didn't get to be in on the plan entirely so he couldn't say for certain what Sage's next move was going to be. "Jade, I am so incredibly sorry. I never wanted to hurt you or cause those issues with your sister." He motioned to her. "...you know that right?" he was asking gently. She felt super uncomfortable with this level of intimacy in his voice, especially with everyone there.

"Um, yeah, I know," she reassured him and she did know that; she couldn't help but glance at Jackson who had that same agitated look he had earlier before the fight broke out. "I'm sorry," she said, running her hands over her face. "I...I need to go home."

"Ok, yeah," Mason nodded.

"Do you need," she started to ask, meaning blood to finish the transition. After all, it wasn't like she wanted Mason to die.

"No, I still have," he said but didn't finish, her figuring out that he had Marcel's other vials somewhere. "...if that's ok," he added.

"It's fine," she said quickly, her feelings starting to catch up with her. "I'm sorry, I have to." She didn't finish her sentence as she just left the bar, Jackson following close behind her.

"Let's go home," Elijah was saying to his brother, both continuing to look uneasy at Sage's involvement.

* * *

Klaus didn't sleep that night.

To be fair, it wasn't going to be long before the sun came up anyway. There he was though in his study, pacing, pondering his next move. Marcel had allowed himself into the study at one point during the night, unable to sleep either, saying he was going to gather the vampires and pass around Sage's photo so they could all keep an eye out. Seeing the light outside streaking the sky as the sun came up he heard his brother about the house as well. He wandered the halls, finding his brother sitting at the table.

"You too?" Elijah asked and his brother just sighed, sitting across from him at the other end of the table.

"What are we going to do Elijah?" Klaus asked worriedly. "She _will_ be back," he emphasized. "She's already-" He stopped when Jade and Jackson appeared in the room, Jade with a coffee mug in hand.

"Morning all," Jade said tiredly as she and Jackson sat down next to each other, occupying the seats between her dad and uncle.

"You should be resting sweetheart," Klaus was telling her.

"Back at ya," Jade reminded him.

"The smell of her coffee might knock you out," Jackson commented, ratting her out and she gave him a look, knowing he didn't approve. He had probably been right that it wasn't a good move though.

"Honestly Jade," Elijah said as he took the mug from her, able to smell the amount of alcohol she put in it.

"Mmm, fine," she gave in to it being taken away. "Where's Marcel?"

"Off talking to some of his vampires about finding Sage," Klaus explained. "Seeing if Davina can maybe find her."

"After all this, I'm gonna guess she's hidden," Jade murmured, sinking back in her seat a little. "Guys, something isn't right."

"I think that's fairly obvious Jade," Klaus pointed out to her.

"No," she rolled her eyes, getting up to pace while the others stayed seated. "Just...this stuff with Sage. I mean, if Mason actually had killed me then you wouldn't have had any idea she was behind it." She threw up her hands. "Isn't that half the point of revenge?"

"What are you saying Jade?" Jackson asked her.

"I think she knew I was going to be able to kill Mason," Jade reasoned. "I think she was lying to the witches that I was going to die."

"Sweetheart," Klaus was saying gently, searching for how to phrase it. "You have your mother's strength, and you've handled this all very well. But, I was shocked when I heard you overcame Mason without your magic."

"I think she knew he would be able to stop the compulsion," she went on. After blocking much of the night from her mind she slowly started to recall actually killing Mason; it was too easy, almost like he let her in order to stop him from hurting her.

"Jade, that is exceptionally rare," Elijah was pointing out to her now. "The only cases of that happening are with someone who's very in love with-" He stopped as Jade's eyes begged him to quit while he was ahead, Jackson looking over at him as well, irritated. He did stop, settling back in his seat.

"What would be the point of this then, paranoia?" Klaus changed the subject.

"No, he said the stuff with Vicki, the fight, all of it was supposed to be a distraction," Jade was recalling, her sleepy mind racing. "To keep us busy from noticing the witches, what if this was the same thing?"

"A distraction for what?" Klaus asked. She wasn't making any sense. What she went through that night was extremely traumatic; she nearly died. It seemed like an awful lot just for it to be a distraction rather than being the overall plan.

"A bigger spell?" Jade offered. "I don't know dad, but why have Mason take the blood? Why assume that I would kill him and he would then wake up and be able to tell us everything?"

"Didn't you tell me the room downstairs with Finn's coffin was spelled," Jackson was realizing now, standing up with Jade. "If it was a distraction, Davina would have been paying too much attention to Jane Anne-"

"To notice any other magic," Jade said, swallowing hard. She turned and locked eyes with her dad for a second before he took off. "Dad!" she called, racing after him.

 _Of course_ , Klaus was torturing himself.

How had they not seen it? How had they not thought to check for Finn's coffin the second they knew of Sage's involvement? She had come along after the family for those first years after he had locked Finn away but she seemed to fall off after that. No one in the family gave her a second thought after that time, never hearing from her or seeing her again. Honestly, if anyone had asked about her he would have assumed she died. Did she find out about Jade and start her plan from there?

He flew through the main room, down the stairs to the basement. He heard Jade calling for him, Jackson not far behind her and Elijah following them swiftly. He hoped beyond anything that they were wrong, that their exhausted minds were grasping at straws. Once he came upon the room though, coffin not only open but turned on it's side, he knew that Jade and Jackson were right. Her attack had just been a distraction for Sage to free Finn. What came next now that they were reunited was anyone's guess.

"Oh my God," Jade gasped as she covered her mouth as she spotted the empty coffin; she felt Jackson's hands resting on her shoulders. "Oh my God," she said again, this time taking off, sprinting back up the stairs.

"Jade," Jackson called, racing after her. She could hear her father tearing the room downstairs apart in a rage.

"They're going to kill me," she was saying, her eyes tearing up now.

"No, they're not," Jackson assured her, cradling her face in his hands. All the feelings she had been burying about what happened to her were bubbling to the surface with the realization that her long locked away uncle was free.

"No, they are," Jade whimpered. "That's why my dad kept him like that in the first place, because he thought he would hurt me." She motioned to the door where they could both hear her dad yelling as he continued to throw and kick different things in the room around, imaging Elijah watching alongside sadly, knowing it couldn't be stopped. "My _dad_ is scared Jack," she was saying, tears streaming down her face.

"No one is getting near you," Jackson promised, pulling her into his arms again, kissing her head. "I'll never let anything happen to you, do you understand me?" he asked, lips in her hair as he continued to kiss her head. What she couldn't tell him yet though was that she wasn't the only person she was scared for.

At some point during the night she realized she was over a week late.

 **thanks for reading! :) what do you think?! were you surprised? let me know ;)**


	17. Unwell

**thanks so much for reviewing! :) so glad you liked it and were surprised! i hope you like this one, i really enjoyed writing the first part with cami/jade/kol...enjoy!**

 _ **Unwell**_

 _"He knew sooner or later someone from his past was going to come for his daughter," line from Look After You, chapter 29_

While they were in the same house, Jade wasn't sure the last time she actually spent any time around her dad.

He was constantly up to something, either making moves himself or instructing others to do so. With everything that was going on, Kelly was even more concerned about finding Vicki's whereabouts. Marcel and Davina worked to trace her while Elijah went to look for her with what little they had. Rebekah was in Mystic Falls now to keep an eye on Kelly, Matt, and Theo, to make sure they were safe. Klaus would go out with the other vampires as they made sure the city was safe, but more often than not he found himself at the house. After all, he left Jade alone once and look at what happened.

 _"She's getting claustrophobic Nik,"_ Kelly was warning him on the phone that afternoon. While she wanted nothing more than to keep their daughter safe, she knew the difference between safety and smothering.

"How would you-"

 _"I just talked to her,"_ she pointed out to him and he sighed. _"I get it, ok? You don't want to risk leaving her alone again. Jackson's with her though, isn't he?"_

"He's gone out to the bayou," Klaus informed her. Kelly remembered hearing something about that, about them training some of the other members of their pack in order to keep Jade safe, taking turns in the city watching over things.

 _"Well, it's been two weeks,"_ she reminded him. _"Surely she can go back to work or-"_

"If you think I'm allowing her to go back there after..." He stopped as Cami had let herself into the house, encountering him in the main room. "Cami, hi," he greeted her, phone still to his ear. "If you'll just let me finish talking to Jade's mother-"

"Oh, is it because you're her father?" Cami cut him off, raising her eye brows.

 _"You can call me back,"_ Kelly told him as she heard, hanging up.

"...how do you know about that?" Klaus asked her curiously. Clearly at this point there was no hiding it from her.

"My uncle told me after what happened at the bar," Cami told him though the thoughts were still making her head spin. "He showed me all this stuff, photos and documents, I-"

"Dad," Jade stopped them from the stairs, having heard everything. "Can you give us a second?"

"Jade," he was insisting. After all, it had just been the two of them in the house; she rolled her eyes at him.

"You can walk circles around the block if you must," she told him. She got that all of this was for her safety now that Finn was loose, but sitting in the house was starting to take it's toll. Klaus gave her a bit of a look but he did oblige her leaving the house. "So...you still came over?" she questioned. She was the one that asked Cami to come even though she had no idea what she had learned.

"I came for answers," Cami told her though she wasn't sure what she was feeling as she stared at her best friend. She hadn't seen Jade since the attack and she looked so incredibly vulnerable, her hair messy and piled up, her big sweatshirt nearly covering the bottom of her shorts.

"Mmm," Jade nodded at her. "Well, if you want answers," she was saying, holding her hand out and a bottle of bourbon came flying off the bar towards her hand.

"Whoa!" Cami said with a bit of a jump.

"You're gonna want some of this," Jade finished, holding it out. Cami came up the stairs, taking it from her before following her to her bedroom. She had been in Jade's room a million times, picking out clothes for dates, just hanging out, normal twenty-something things. Now everything just seemed different, the room feeling foreign.

"What do you want to know?" Jade offered. If she were Cami she would surely have a million questions.

"...what are you Jade?" Cami asked cautiously, settling on Jade's bed; Jade stood at the end where she had been folding some clothes but she didn't continue the chore, leaning her hands against the bed frame.

"I'm assuming your uncle told you about vampires, witches, and werewolves," Jade started and Cami nodded. "Well...I'm all three," she confessed.

"How?" Cami asked. "And what about everyone else? What else have you lied about?"

"Cam, I didn't want to lie to you," Jade said defensively and Cami scoffed at her. "What was I going to tell you that you were going to believe?" she asked. "Like, oh hey Cami. So, Klaus and Elijah? They're my dad and uncle," she informed her. "My dad really did adopt Marcel, but that was back in 1820-"

"Oh my God," Cami groaned, cutting her off, taking a drink. She knew that Jade was right though; there was nothing Jade could have told her that she would have believed.

"That's not even the half of it," Jade informed her, sitting on the end of her bed now. "Sophie? Witch. Jackson, Aiden, Oliver? Werewolves."

"What about-"

"Josh is also a vampire, but he turned late last year," Jade stopped her. Cami just stared at her. "So..." She motioned to Cami, wondering what else she wanted to know.

"How are you all of those things?" Cami asked her again. "What's your mom?"

"Human," Jade informed her. "My dad and Elijah are half siblings. They have the same mom, my grandmother who was a witch. His dad was a werewolf, so he's one too. And..." She wasn't sure how to get into everything else. "Long story short, my grandmother created vampires."

"How old-"

"Over a thousand," Jade stopped her and Cami took another drink, this one a bit longer before letting out a breath.

"...you're telling me all of this really easily," Cami commented after being silent a moment.

"Well...there's no point in lying anymore," Jade told her honestly. "And I always wanted to tell you Cami."

"Yeah," Cami laughed cynically.

"Yeah," Jade agreed, completely serious. "You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you, how much I wanted to tell you about your brother." She figured at this point Kieran told her about Sean and by her not reacting she knew that he had. "It was safer for you to not know, and you're my best friend Cami."

"Is that so?" Cami asked her, still putting on this exterior to distance herself. How much of this could she get involved in after all?

"You still came over here," Jade reminded her. "Even after you talked to your uncle."

"Yeah, well," Cami sighed, reaching for her bag on the floor. She pulled out the plastic pharmacy bag as Jade had asked her to make the stop for her along the way. Inside were two boxes of pregnancy tests. "Figured I owed you," she murmured as a few months ago Jade had come over to her apartment with tests after Cami had a scare with a guy she had been casually seeing.

"...will you stay while I take these?" Jade asked her hesitantly. She knew she didn't have any right to ask, but she didn't want to be alone; she had yet to tell Jackson what she suspected, which Cami knew.

"Mhmm," Cami agreed though she was hesitant. "Yeah, I'm um, not done asking questions, so," she said like she wasn't staying entirely for Jade.

"Ok," Jade nodded, happy with at least that as she took a box, slipping into her bathroom to take the two tests inside. "So," she said as she came back out of the bathroom, resuming her spot on the end of the bed.

"So," Cami agreed, looking at her nervously fidgeting with her hands. "Longest two minutes ever," she assured her and Jade nodded.

"Plenty of time for you to ask more questions," Jade offered.

"Why are you so scared?" Cami asked her and Jade laughed a little.

"That's what you want to know?" she asked back and Cami shrugged, drinking again.

"I mean, Jackson basically worships you," she told her. "I'm sure he'll be a great dad?" she said though she said it like a question as Jade continued to look sick.

"I thought the same thing about Mason," Jade told her and Cami looked at her curiously.

"Werewolf too?" she realized and Jade nodded. "You've got a type," she teased slightly, leaning back against the pillows.

"I guess," Jade said, giving a weak laugh. "With werewolves it's a big...lineage thing." Cami looked at her curiously. "I had a scare my senior year of college, me and Mason," she explained. "I wasn't pregnant but, ah, Mason realized he wanted kids that were going to be just werewolves not," she motioned to herself. "All of this."

"But there has to be-"

"There's no one else like me Cami," Jade shook her head at her. "At least, um, not yet," she said as she looked down at her stomach.

"That's why you moved here?" Cami asked and she nodded. "Well, hey, that guy's obviously insane after what happened a few weeks ago," she reminded her.

"Mmm, that wasn't entirely his fault," Jade sighed as she pushed herself off the bed; her two minutes were well over. She went over to the bathroom door but didn't open it right away; she then felt Cami behind her.

"You've got this," Cami assured her as she pushed the door open. There laying on the sink were two positive pregnancy tests.

"...oh my God," Jade let out a heavy breath. She didn't know what she was expecting. After all, as a werewolf, she pretty much already knew that there was something going on in addition to the fact she had fully skipped her last period, but she had wanted the tests to confirm it.

"Hey," Cami said, going back into the bedroom quickly before returning. "That's why we have two more tests!" Jade let out a weak laugh, wiping at her eyes. "Come on, tell me some more stuff," she encouraged her. "You can take the other tests, then we'll see."

"Ok," Jade agreed, following her back to the room, each resuming their same seats.

"So, what happened with your ex exactly?" Cami questioned.

"That's going to take forever," Jade half laughed.

"We've got time," she shrugged.

Jade explained to her what happened with the witches, what happened with Sean and how she and Marcel were hiding Davina. She got into that being why the witches were after her and how they teamed up with Sage because of the issues that she had with the Mikealsons. Unable to lie anymore Jade explained how her father kept his oldest brother locked away, at first for selfish reasons but once he found out about her it was to keep her safe. But, she then went on to explain how that was how Mason got dragged into all of this, how he had been turned into a hybrid now.

"So, now everyone is freaking out because they don't know where my uncle is," Jade finished; Cami just stared at her. "...can you say something?"

"I think you need this more than me," Cami said, noting the bottle in her hands.

"I don't think I can," Jade said lightly as she picked up the second and final box of pregnancy tests, heading back into the bathroom. She came back and finished explaining what she started telling Cami before about turning Mason, what that meant and other beginner's information on vampires. Cami knew she was starting to stall, nodding for her to go to the bathroom and check. Jade came out with just one of the tests in her hands.

"Well?" Cami asked, though from Jade's eyes she was sure she knew.

"...both are positive," Jade admitted, her eyes welling up a little. She couldn't have a baby right now, not with everything that was going on. And she had no idea what Jackson was going to say, though she immediately feared the same reaction she got from Mason even if she wasn't sure why.

"Hey, it's ok," Cami was saying quickly, trying to get her to sit with her. Before Jade could though there was a knock at the door.

"Knock, knock," a voice familiar only to Jade said on the other side.

"Ah, come in," Jade said blinking her eyes clear quickly before shoving the pregnancy test in the pocket of her sweatshirt. "Kol, hi," Jade greeted him with a weak smile. "Cami, this is my uncle Kol."

"Hi," Cami said politely.

"Uncle?" Kol questioned her with a raised brow.

"We're doing the honest thing right now," Jade was explaining to him but he shook his head at her, smirking.

"I think you meant favorite uncle darling," he informed her and she rolled her eyes at him playfully; it was good to see her smile though.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"My favorite niece is in trouble," he reminded her, hugging her now; Rebekah had called and told him everything. As he let go he naturally looked around the room, eyes settling on the open bathroom door where he spotted the three pregnancy tests. More than one test meant one thing. "Maybe in more trouble than your aunt let on though," he said, nodding his head in that direction.

"Ah...yeah," Jade agreed hesitantly, revealing the fourth test in her pocket, going and cleaning up the tests by hiding them in a toiletry bag under the sink.

"Don't tell me I missed you telling your father," he was saying lightly. "I'd hate to miss that."

"You must be a younger brother," Cami commented, earning a smirk from him.

"Can't tell mine before I tell the baby's so," Jade said, shoving her hands in her sweatshirt pocket, leaning against the bathroom door frame. She noticed Cami had hid the boxes from the test back in her bag. "Ew, that sounds so weird," she complained, head falling back.

"I'm no expert," Kol said, hopping up on Jade's bed next to Cami, laying back on the pillows. "But I think this is a _rip the band aid off_ type moment."

"He's right," Cami agreed with him, though Jade didn't seem so sure. "Maybe you should talk to your mom," she offered now as she figured Kelly would be really easy to talk to about something like this. "She could tell you how she told your dad?" she questioned.

"Nik, this is your daughter Jade," Jade recalled for her. "I don't need to ask because I was there." Cami seemed off. "I was five," Jade clarified.

"...oh," Cami nodded, her idea out the window now.

"Well, hey," Kol offered now. "Your father came after all that time because he could sense you, yes?" he asked and Jade nodded. "Werewolves can sense their children before they're born if they're actually around the mother." He shrugged now. "Maybe just wait for Jackson to notice."

"So much for ripping the band aid off," Cami said to him, looking to Jade who seemed to be considering it. "Jade."

"Ugh, I know," Jade said now, jumping a little as the door opened without a knock; that meant Jackson.

"Hey, sorry," he apologized as he hadn't expected Cami or Kol to be there. "You having a meeting?" he said lightly.

"Ah, Kieran told Cami the truth," she said quickly, avoiding what they had all just been talking about. "So...truth meeting," she told him. "And this is my Uncle Kol," she added on and Jackson stepped a little further into the room so he could shake his hand.

"I don't want to interrupt then," he said politely. "I just wanted to check in, see if you were feeling any better?" He didn't notice Cami raising her eye brows at Jade. "Is your stomach still bothering you?" he went on, feeling her head like she might be sick, hand then resting on her cheek. He also missed Cami looked at Kol and shaking her head.

"Yeah, I think it's just my nerves," Jade lied.

"Mmm," Jackson nodded in agreement, kissing her head once. "I'll be downstairs if you need me," he told her, leaving the room.

"...maybe his parental sixth sense is broken," Kol murmured and Jade grabbed one of the shirts from her pile of laundry and tossed it at him.

"It's going to take him a little longer to notice I think," Jade clarified. "It's still early."

"You could just tell him," Cami said again and Jade gave her a look. "Hey, what are we learning out of all of this?" she motioned around to what they had been talking about. "In our _truth_ meeting?" she went on.

"It's not that simple," Jade was trying to reason with her but she noticed her uncle jump, sitting up right like something had startled him. "What?"

"Wait here," he told her, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. What he had heard was nothing dangerous, but it couldn't be good. He heard Elijah downstairs with Jackson and Klaus. From what he heard from Rebekah, Elijah was the one that was out searching for Vicki. Him being home now, alone, meant one thing.

"Yeah right," Jade said, going for the door now.

"Jade!" Cami exclaimed, as if they hadn't had enough trouble already, though she did rush after her. They went down the hall, towards the railing that over looked the main room. There were her two uncles, father, and boyfriend, all talking in hushed tones. It wasn't their words that struck Jade though; it was the fact that Elijah's eyes were red as though he had been crying.

"What's going on?" she asked as she came down the stairs with Cami trailing her. She wasn't an idiot though, she knew what had to have happened but she needed to hear someone say it before she actually believed it. She was met only with silence though. "...will someone say something, please?" she was asking, noticing her voice crack.

"Kol," Klaus was saying first. He hadn't been too happy when he first spotted his younger brother, but it was at least another person to look after Jade. And, he hadn't had too much time to really process Kol being there as Elijah had shared his unfortunate news. "Could you make sure Cami gets to work all right?"

"Sure," Kol nodded, offering for Cami to follow.

"Call me, ok?" Cami said, giving Jade's hand a quick squeeze, at least confirming what Jade had wanted to know earlier which was that they were still friends.

"Dad, what is-"

"Elijah found your sister sweetheart," Klaus stopped her, his eyes pained.

"...where is she then?" Jade asked, maybe in a bit of denial now.

"Jade," he said seriously though gently.

"...oh," Jade said, settling on the couch. It wasn't the reaction anyone expected, but then again everyone's reactions to news like this was different. "I just...I...how?"

"That's not important right now," Klaus told her.

"So, Finn?" she said, looking past him at Jackson and Elijah.

"I believe so," Elijah admitted after letting out a heavy breath.

"Has someone called mom?" Jade asked quickly. She clearly wasn't ready to face this herself yet so she was setting herself out to worry about everyone else.

"I can't call your mother with this news," Klaus told her. Truthfully, he would never be prepared to tell Kelly what had happened. While Vicki wasn't his he had loved her and Matt because they were Jade's siblings, because he had been part of raising them as well. "We need to go back to Mystic Falls."

"...ok," Jade agreed. "I'll go get my stuff," she said, heading back upstairs.

"What is going on with her?" Jackson asked once Jade was back upstairs.

"She's in denial," Elijah was saying. "After everything that's happened, this is just another shock to her system."

"We need to get back to her mother's," Klaus was saying seriously. While he didn't look forward to telling Kelly what happened he knew that he couldn't hold onto the information or hide it from her. "Until she comes to us, we can't push her." The others nodded in agreement, going about getting ready for the trip to Virginia.

The trip to Mystic Falls was mostly silent as they arrived late that night. Klaus knew that he could have taken the easy way and told Rebekah what happened, allowing her to pass the news along, but he knew that wasn't the right thing to do. Maybe the old him would have done that, but in his life post-meeting Jade he knew there were things he had to handle himself. Unfortunately, this was one of them.

He loved Kelly, she was a best friend to him and the mother of his child. She had let him into their lives when she didn't have to, let him care for Jade when she could have told him to stay away. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe that would have been the better decision as they stopped the car outside the grille; if he had never entered their lives then Finn wouldn't have either. They could see Kelly inside working, figuring she must be short staffed as she wasn't behind the bar much anymore. After she had finished school all those years ago and worked to save the money she now owned the restaurant.

"I can't go in there," Jade said suddenly. She saw her mom working, the way she smiled at customers and laughed at their stories. She couldn't be in there when that smile got ripped from her face.

"I'll be right back," Klaus assured her, preparing to go into the restaurant alone. It wasn't fair to bring the others in here for this, he knew that. That, and a bigger audience would surely overwhelm Kelly.

Needing air, Jade did get out of the car, Jackson and Elijah following suit. They saw Klaus cross the street then go inside, Kelly not spotting him at first as she had her back to him. Jade cursed her hearing as she could hear her dad say her mom's name before letting himself behind the bar, her turning to him with a smile. She felt sick, wondering when her mom would ever smile again.

 _"Nik, hey,"_ she laughed as she greeted him, surprised he was behind the bar but still not too put off. _"What's going on?"_ She honestly thought he might have dragged Jade out of New Orleans for safety reasons, not even putting together what happened.

 _"We should go back to the house,"_ he was saying quietly.

 _"What, why?"_ she asked. _"What are you..."_ She looked past him where she could see the other three standing outside by the car. Again like the others, Elijah being back and alone only meant one thing. _"What is going on?"_ Kelly asked again, this time with more urgency.

 _"Kelly,"_ he said gently.

 _"Where is my daughter Nik?"_ she asked frantically; his silence was her answer. _"Oh my God,"_ she started sobbing, collapsing against him, with him wrapping his arms around her to hold her up.

 _"I'm so sorry love,"_ Jade could barely hear her father saying over her mom's crying; she turned to tune them out.

"Matty can't see my mom like this, she can't be the one to tell him," Jade was saying now. Just the thought of her mom trying to telling Matt what happened made her stomach turn. "I need to-"

"Ok," Elijah nodded reassuringly, obliging her. "Take the car, we'll see you three at home."

"Thank you," she said quickly, getting in the driver's seat, Jackson joining her up front.

"Do you want me to drive?" he offered, her cool exterior starting to crack.

"You don't know where you're going," she said simply as she started down the street.

"Do you?" Jackson asked.

"Friday night, small town," she listed as she turned on the appropriate street. "I have an idea."

* * *

Sure enough as she made her way towards the outskirts of town near the falls she spotted the line of cars that parked whenever there was a party out here. She left the car parked near the bridge, motioning for Jackson to follow her. They could hear where the party was going on in the distance a bit, making them both think of bonfires in the bayou. Needing to see her brother now, Jade picked up her pace a little bit as they had come to the edge of the party where there were a few people scattered about, talking and drinking. As she looked around for her brother, she ran into someone, both of them jumping.

"Whoa, sorry Jade!" Tyler immediately apologized, seeing that he had startled her. "...you ok?" he asked, reading her expression.

"Have you seen-"

"You're not here over my uncle are you?" he was asking now and she looked confused; Jackson was confused as well, but only because he didn't know who this kid's uncle was.

"Tyler," Jade tried to start.

"My parents don't know yet," Tyler was saying now, lowering his voice. "I mean, they know he triggered but-"

"Tyler, I'm not here over Mason," Jade assured him and he seemed a bit relieved. "I just need to see my brother."

"Ok, yeah," Tyler nodded, definitely wanting to help now that he knew his uncle was in the clear. "Hey," he called to another guy, someone Jade knew her brother played football with but she didn't know his name. "You know where Donovan is?"

"I think I saw him heading up to the falls with Caroline," he was saying and Jade knew what that meant.

"Sure you wanna interrupt?" Tyler was saying lightly.

"Unfortunately, I have to," Jade muttered.

"Did something happen Jade?" Tyler asked now, feeling like an idiot for his joke just now.

"I just need to see my brother Ty," she assured him, heading towards the falls while taking Jackson's hand so it was easier to follow in the dark. She got out her phone, using it like a flashlight as they made their way down that trail. Sure enough she could see two close figures, looking like they were in the middle of kissing. Her brother was sitting back against a large rock while Caroline stood in front of him, arms wrapped around each other. They were just about to kiss again when...

"Oh, hey Jade," Caroline was saying quickly as she backed away from Matt.

"You're funny," Matt told her with a laugh. "Like my sister-"

"Hi Matty," Jade said, startling him.

"Jeez, Jade," he said as he had jumped a little. "Jackson, hey," he greeted him, having met his sister's boyfriend a few months ago when he went to visit on a long weekend to New Orleans. "What's going on?" he asked. Obviously with them tracking him down in the woods in the middle of the night it wasn't good.

"We've gotta get home, ok?" Jade was saying.

"But why?" Matt asked, standing up now. "What happened?"

"Matt it, um...it's Vicki," she admitted, her eyes welling up for the first time.

"Well, is she ok?" he asked quickly. "Is she in the hospital or..." He was looking over at Jackson now, his expression telling him everything. "Oh my God," he said softly, his own eyes tearing up and threatening to spill over.

"Come here," Jade said, taking him and wrapping her arms around him tight to hug him, his arms squeezing her as well. While he knew he had to get them home, Jackson let them there a moment, holding each other while they mourned the loss of their sister.

 **let me know what you thought! review please!**


	18. Under Pressure

_**ugh sorry all it's been so long! i hope you like this update though!**_

 _ **Under Pressure**_

 _"I am going to fix this for you. Because I am your father and that's what fathers do," Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

"You don't find this a little weird?" Jade was asking Matt as they were standing in their mom's restaurant after the funeral. They weren't really up for standing by the door to greet people and accept their condolences so they had veered towards the side, talking among themselves; they just needed their own space. It seemed strange to be at the grille rather than their own home after they just had their sister's funeral.

"Your dad's idea," Matt shrugged, sipping a drink he had made himself. "If we had it at the house, we would be inviting people in and who knows who's what these days."

"I guess," Jade murmured, looking around. She spotted some of her brothers classmates talking to her mom and stepdad as they came in. Her dad was talking to Jackson, Elijah and Rebekah were around as well. The more time went on, the more they all seemed to scatter around the restaurant.

"You feeling ok Jade?" Matt was asking her. He had heard her that morning in their bathroom throwing up and she had gotten sick at church too. She told the family that it was her nerves, her stress turning her stomach. It wasn't too far of a stretch as there was plenty of anxiety to go around.

"I think I'm gonna be sick again," she muttered, running a hand through her hair.

"Want some?" he asked, offering his drink which had just appeared to be ginger ale. When she took it though she could smell the whiskey.

"Like this will help my stomach," she rolled her eyes, handing it back without drinking from it.

"Takes the edge off," he shrugged, taking another sip before setting it on a nearby table. "If it's your nerves," he said, his tone implying that he was obviously skeptical of what she had been saying earlier; she rolled her eyes at him, giving him the answer. "Does Jackson know?"

"Can we not get into this?" she said lightly though she was blinking back tears. It had been days and she still hadn't told Jackson what was going on. On top of being nervous she was also feeling guilty; after all, this was three people now that knew before he did.

"I just wanna know if I have to kill him, based on his reaction," Matt clarified, trying to get her to smile a little.

"Well, you can relax, we're not adding to the body count," Jade told him. "He, ah, doesn't know."

"Gotcha," Matt told her, making a zipping motion across his lips and she rolled her eyes again but he did at least succeed in making her smile. "Uh oh," he said involuntarily now.

"What?" Jade asked, looking him over.

"Ah, speaking of adding to the body count," he said as he nodded behind her for her to look; Jade felt like she was going pass out. "The Lockwoods are here," Matt was saying though she obviously saw. "What are you-"

"No idea," Jade said as she was crossing the room quickly, clearly winging it. Mason had barely set foot in the restaurant before she was pulling him back outside. "So, is this a death wish thing or..." she trailed off, looking him over.

"This wasn't my idea," Mason informed him and now she gave him a look. "Look, not that I'm not sorry or anything but," he motioned to the door. "I'm not stupid. Between your dad and Jackson I can't imagine who wants to kill me more."

"Honestly, it's probably my mom," Jade pointed out. Inside things were just as tense.

"I can't deal with that family right now," Kelly was saying to Theo and Klaus, excusing herself to go outside. She never really could stand Richard and Carol, then Mason was her least favorite for obvious reasons. The only one she was able to tolerate was Tyler.

"Hi Mrs. M," Tyler greeted her.

"Hi honey," Kelly gave him a small smile. "Matt and the others are over there," she nodded towards the table taken over by the high schoolers. "Excuse me," she was saying to the others as she went into the kitchen so she could slip out back to have a minute to herself.

"Should someone go check on her?" Carol was offering.

"I think she just needs a moment by herself, but thanks Carol," Theo was saying politely. "Thank you both for coming."

"We're so sorry about what happened to Vicki," Richard added now. "I'm also glad your sister will be staying," he said to Klaus. "I wanted to let you know I truly appreciate your family's efforts in keeping this town safe."

"You know, it's interesting you say that," Klaus was saying now, unable to believe that they brought Mason here of all places. Vicki never would have run away if it weren't for Mason, not to mention everything that happened with Jade; compulsion or not, Klaus still couldn't stand the sight of him. "Because I think I know where to start."

"Hey, ah, Klaus?" Jackson was interrupting now, coming closer. He didn't know where this sudden urge to cover for Mason came from but he was one of the only ones who knew the truth; Mason's family had no idea he turned. Klaus was looking at him curiously. "Just, speaking of Rebekah, I think she was looking for you?"

"We can talk more about it later," Richard was saying, not picking up that anything was wrong. "We don't want to keep you..." They had all kind of figured they were there more to talk about town safety than to really be sorry over what happened to Vicki. They all noticed Jade leaving Mason outside, disappearing around the side of the building to talk to her mom.

"Those two, huh?" Carol said, nodding at the window.

"I'll make sure Tyler gets home," Theo was telling them now, giving them their out to leave. Thankfully they took it, Mason following as they got outside.

"What was that?" Klaus was asking Jackson.

"His family doesn't know what happened," he explained, then nodded at Tyler. "Kid told us about it the other night, I was more concerned about him," he decided and Klaus nodded. Jackson felt bad that he hadn't actually been around Jade much today, but he knew she would probably want space over anything else right now. Knowing she was with her mom outside he left her alone for now.

"Theo's gonna kill you," Jade commented to her mom as she sat with her on the bench in the alley where employees would come for a quick break, usually to smoke. While her mom quit years ago, she was using that spot for that exact purpose, taking a long drag before speaking.

"Well, I have a very unfortunate _get out of jail free card_ with your step father right now," she said, taking another drag. "Wish I didn't," she muttered as she let a puff of smoke out.

"Mmm," Jade nodded in agreement; her mom held it out for her. "Ah, mom?" she half laughed, looking her over.

"Honey, if you think we didn't know what you were up to in high school," Kelly was teasing her and Jade looked confused. "Your father could literally smell it on you a hundred yards away."

"Ah," Jade nodded with a bit of a laugh. "Well, thanks for not busting me I guess."

"I knew crazier things were going on at those parties," Kelly reminded her. "Parenthood is about picking your battles I guess," she said, offering again.

"I can't mom," Jade shook her head and Kelly took another drag.

"Jackson have a thing about it?" Kelly asked, wondering if Jade's boyfriend was like her husband that way.

"No," Jade said, unable to keep it to herself. "It's just that I um...I guess I'm going to be finding out about that whole battle picking thing," she said nervously.

"Oh my God," Kelly said softly, putting out her cigarette before flicking it to the side. "Oh," she said with the softest smile, tucking a piece of hair behind her daughter's ear. "My baby's having a baby?" she asked to confirm, Jade nodding.

"And you're now the...fourth person," she counted, nervously fidgeting with her hands. "That knows before Jackson."

"Mmmm, honey," Kelly sighed, rubbing her back, understanding why she was nervous. "Well, I at least take it one of those people isn't your dad?" she said lightly, trying to get her daughter to smile; it worked a little.

"Ah, no," Jade said, suppressing a laugh. Maybe it was a stereotype, but she knew her father was going to freak out about this.

"I know you're scared baby," Kelly assured her. "But, you said it yourself," she said, reminding Jade of her first date with Jackson. "He's not like Mason."

"Yeah," Jade nodded in agreement as her mom squeezed her hand.

"It's starting to get late," Kelly noted as it was starting to get dark, standing up herself. "Maybe you two go for a walk and we'll see you at the house?" She was saying it like an offer but Jade knew her mom was going to make her. It wasn't like she was wrong though, she had to tell Jackson what was going on.

"...ok," Jade agreed, remaining seated as her mom went back inside to get Jackson; it wasn't long before he was outside with her. "Hi," she said as she got up to stand.

"Hey," he greeted her. "I'm sorry I haven't been around for you much today," he said and she shook her head.

"I'm the one that's been all over the place," she assured him with a soft smile. "It's ok." They were quiet a moment.

"...did you smoke?" he questioned as he could smell it; it seemed out of character for her as he never knew she casually smoked late in high school through college.

"Ah, my mom did," she told him and he made a bit of a face.

"Oh, Theo's gonna kill her," he commented and she laughed, forehead falling against his chest.

"That's exactly what I said," she said as she felt him put his arms around her, tilting her head up to look at him. "Can we go for a walk?" she asked now.

"Lead the way," he told her, letting her go though he did take her hand. They walked around the side of the grille and she noticed her family had all gone, back to the house like her mother had said.

"I heard you cover for Mason earlier," she said, pushing off her intended subject as they walked down the street, even though this subject was also sensitive; as she suspected, he shrugged it off. "It was nice," she told him.

"I was more worried about what home that kid would be walking into tonight," he pointed out, referencing Tyler; she nodded. "What are you thinking about Jade?" he asked, able to tell she was avoiding something. He got her to stop in a nearby park.

"That...I could get used to you in a suit," she teased him, acting like she was going to adjust his tie but she did loosen it.

"You know, I was afraid it was going to be that," he joked back. She was running out of ways to push this off and she knew it. "Look, we don't have to talk about your sister," he told her as she crossed her arms, looking down. "About your uncle, or any of it. I just want to let you know that we can, if you want to."

"It's not about my sister," Jade sighed heavily, sinking onto a nearby bench, Jackson sitting slowly next to her.

"Ok," he shrugged, at a bit of a loss; he let a hand rest on her leg as she kept her arms crossed, waiting patiently for her to start.

"Do you remember when Davina let us borrow her family's cabin last month?" Jade asked now.

"...yes?" Jackson answered in confusion, not sure what that weekend had to do with anything.

"Ok," Jade said as she let out a breath, uncrossing her arms just so she could play with her hands. "And, do you ah...remember what I forgot to pack?" she asked, looking at him now, seeing in his eyes he was starting to piece it together. She had forgotten to pack her birth control that trip. "And you asked me if I was sure it was ok," she went on nervously, looking away from him again. "And I said what's the worst thing that could happen..." She trailed off, looking to him finally.

"Oh my God," Jackson groaned, sitting back a little where he was, rubbing his forehead; she didn't like the sound of that groan. "I'm so stupid," he muttered, still rubbing his forehead. Jade's mom was right, this wasn't like telling Mason; it was a trillion times worse. "I mean, of course that's why I've wanted to be around you this whole time," he said just a split second later.

"...wait, what?" Jade was asking now.

"I've been super drawn to you Jade," Jackson was explaining. "When I haven't been around you, I've been almost sick. I thought it was just everything going on. Then you've actually been getting sick every day. I'm just so stupid for not already figuring this out," he finished, studying her expression. "What did you think I..." He started to ask but stopped when he realized what she thought he meant by saying he was stupid when she started crying; they at least seemed like tears of relief though. "Oh no, Jade, I'm sorry," he was apologizing profusely, knowing how much his initial reaction scared her. "No, baby, I'm so sorry," he went on as he put his arms around her, letting her rest against his chest. "It's ok, we're ok."

"Are you sure?" Jade asked as she pulled away.

" _Yes_ ," he emphasized, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "Maybe it's not the timing I imagined, but I did picture this for us."

"...yeah?" Jade asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah," Jackson assured her with a grin, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "I promise, we'll be fine." He kissed her now. "You never have to be afraid to tell me anything Jade."

"So, you're not going to be mad that my mom and Matt found out today," she said lightly as she sat up a little more, wiping at her eyes. "Or that Cami is the one that got me the pregnancy test."

"No," he laughed a little, running a hand over her hair. "No, don't worry about anything. I'm gonna take care of you both, ok?" he said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it again. "That's what dads do," he told her with a smile.

* * *

 _That's what dads do_ , echoed in Jade's mind as they got back to New Orleans, no mention of the baby since their first talk on the bench. _You know what else dads do_ , she was thinking to herself as they were at the house, Jackson sitting on her bed while she couldn't sit still, going about the room unpacking. _Freak out when their daughters get pregnant._

"What are you thinking about?" Jackson asked her, her pacing making him nervous.

"Nothing," she shrugged it off, throwing some dirty clothes into her laundry basket. "You?"

"That you're making me nervous," he pointed out, leaning forward to catch her hand to at least get her to stand still. He had suggested they just tell her dad before they leave Mystic Falls, that maybe she would feel better if her mom was around for it. With the impending blow up though and everything that had happened at home Jade had been against adding more tension to the situation.

"I can't tell him," she decided, shaking her head quickly. "I can't. He's always had this thing about me dating and having a baby and he just started liking you," she was listing off nervously.

"I figured that would be short lived anyway," he said, trying to lighten the mood. No, he wasn't super excited at the thought of telling her dad but it wasn't like they were in high school or anything; he wasn't going anywhere either. The thing that really concerned him the most was the timing of everything, with everything going on with her uncle being back.

"You're not funny," she told him simply though she did drop down on the bed to sit next to him, curling up into his side as he put an arm around her.

"What if we built up to telling him," he told her.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she tilted her head up curiously.

"We can go tell our friends," he listed for her. "Then, your brother. We can go out to the bayou to talk to Grandma Mary-"

"Oh nope, scares me more than my dad," Jade shook her head at him.

"Then, we'll build up to telling her," Jackson said, rubbing her back. "We're not going to get away with not telling anyone."

"...yeah, ok," she sighed, defeated. She knew that they had to tell everyone, her nerves were just shot at the thought of doing it.

* * *

Jade did have to admit that Jackson's plan of building up to telling her dad was helpful. They went to the bar to tell their friends who were all really excited for them. Cami went through the trouble of pretending she had no idea that Jade was even pregnant, making her laugh and tell her that Jackson knew that she got her the tests; he did thank her for helping take care of Jade when she needed it.

Next, they went to meet up with her brother to tell him the news. Marcel was pretty surprised, but after the initial shock wore off he seemed happy for them as well. He shared Jackson's concern about the timing of it all, but reassured Jade that everything would be fine. Everything was going well and people were very happy for them. Now that they were back at the house again she felt like she could throw up though.

"It's going to be fine," Jackson was saying softly as they went into the house, holding Jade's hand. When Jade spotted who was sitting on the couch though she wasn't sure if she felt better or worse.

"Aunt Freya?" Jade asked in confusion.

"Hi honey," Freya smiled at her warmly, coming over to hug her.

"What are you doing in New Orleans?" Jade asked worriedly. Had something else happened?

"Everything is fine," Freya assured her as she released her from her embrace. "Your dad just thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together with everything that's going on."

"Everyone's going to be here?" Jade asked. No, a bigger audience didn't make her feel better she decided. After all if she wanted a group around for this she would have told her dad when they were still at her mom's home.

"Well, your Aunt Bekah is staying in Virginia," Freya reminded her and Jade nodded. "Jade, I'm so sorry I couldn't be there," Freya told her about the funeral, taking her hand in both of hers and squeezing it. As she took her niece's hand she could feel her energy, feeling something was different. Her eyes went wide as she realized what it was. "Jade-"

"Hey dad," Jade interrupted Freya as her dad came around the corner into the room. She moved by her aunt to go talk to her dad. "I, um, didn't know everyone was coming."

"I was going to let it be a surprise at dinner tonight," Klaus was telling her, still none the wiser that anything was going on.

"Oh, I thought it was just going to be us at dinner," she was saying, deciding talking to her dad just the three of them at dinner would have been the best. She didn't notice Freya glancing over at Jackson who shook his head, telling her Klaus had no idea.

"I know," he promised her. "It's just been awhile since everyone has been all together, and with everything-"

"No, it's fine," Jade told him quickly. He was starting to pick up that something was off with her, though what it was he wasn't sure.

"Is everything ok Jade?" he asked gently.

"Um," Jade said, noticing both Jackson and Freya giving her a look, their eyes screaming just do it. "Yeah, I'm just off with sleep and everything. I'm, um, going to lay down before dinner."

"All right," Klaus nodded, though he wasn't sure he fully believed her. "Dinner is at seven."

"Awesome," Jade put on a fake smile before making a break for the stairs.

Seven o'clock rolled around faster than she anticipated. Jackson continued to tell her that it was fine, that it might even be better with everyone around for the news. Seeing everyone sitting around the table though, Jade didn't feel that way. This wasn't going to go well. Her dad and Elijah sat at opposite ends of the table wile Jade and Jackson sat across from Kol and Freya.

She couldn't focus, pushing food around on her plate. She could hear Freya saying something about how Keelin should be there soon, having to wait until her last final to catch a flight. Elijah was mentioning that he spoke to Rebekah and that everything was quiet in Virginia. Jade was so absentminded though she didn't catch her dad giving her a concerned look.

"Jade?" he said, getting her attention. "Are you all right?"

"Oh...fine," she nodded, setting her fork down.

"You haven't touched your food," he pointed out, though that was obvious.

"I guess I'm just not very hungry," she murmured. She couldn't look next to her to see the look that Jackson was giving her; she imagined it was something along the lines of what Freya was giving her though from her spot at the table.

"Is your stomach still bothering you?" he asked her. It wasn't a secret that she had been vomiting on and off the past few days.

"Maybe that's it," she nodded.

"You should see a doctor then," Klaus was insisting now.

"Really, dad, it's fine," Jade assured him, though she knew a doctor's appointment was in her future.

"It's just been a few days," he went on. "I'm starting to worry about you."

"It's fine, I'm _fine_ ," she said quickly, too quickly in fact, setting off red flags for her dad. "Really," she said, cutting him off before he could say anything else. "It's all fine. Let's just have dinner," she said, reaching for her wine glass she had been ignoring all night and taking a drink from it.

"Jade," Jackson murmured to her and she froze before immediately spitting the wine back into the glass.

"Smooth," Kol told her from where he sat across from her, earning a kick under the table. Jackson realized that Kol must have been one of the people in the know too.

"Jade," her dad was saying now. The sickness, her acting so jumpy around him, her spitting out the wine. He hadn't picked up what was going on before, but he wasn't an idiot either.

"I don't drink a lot of red wine," Jade continued to deflect. "...that's not how you do it?" He just shook his head at her.

"Hi all!" Keelin said as she came into the dining room. "So sorry I'm late, everything smells so good though." She gave Freya a quick kiss, leaning against her chair. "What did I miss?" she asked, looking around.

"Your niece had something to share with us I think," Klaus was saying, again fairly sure he knew what was going on but he needed to hear Jade say it.

"Oh yeah?" Keelin was saying, looking at Jade now. "What's up sweetheart?"

"Um," Jade said, cornered now. She wasn't an idiot either, she knew that her dad knew. "Aunt Keelin...I'm pregnant."

"Oh wow!" Keelin beamed at her. "Honey that's..." She glanced around the room. "Ok, yeah, read the room," she muttered to herself.

"We should," Freya started off, nodding at the door. She didn't get much out as the argument Jade had been so worried about erupted.

"How on earth did this happen?" Klaus demanded, looking to Jade and Jackson's side of the table.

"You're the only one here with a child Nik," Kol reminded him.

"Not helping," Jade informed Kol who shrugged now.

"What were you thinking?" Klaus was asking his daughter again, ignoring his younger brother.

"It's not like we planned this," Jade said defensively.

"So, you weren't thinking," he hurtfully pointed out now.

"You know what, I'm older than mom was when she got pregnant with me," Jade reminded him, raising her voice now. "And I'm with the father, it's not like you and mom's tequila infused one nighter."

"All right," Elijah was saying now to interrupt, not wanting Jade to drag her mother into this.

"Does your mother know about this?" Klaus was asking her now.

"What does that matter?" Jade asked in exasperation.

"So, yes," Klaus said.

"She knew before I did if that makes it..." Jackson started to point out; Klaus was glaring daggers at him.

"I really don't want to hear from _you_ right now," Klaus was telling him.

"You can't talk to us like this, we're adults," Jade snapped at her dad now.

"Yes, and how very adult of you Jade," he was telling her. "You make this _irresponsible_ choice and then you _hide_ it-"

"BECAUSE I KNEW YOU WOULD REACT LIKE THIS!" Jade was screaming now. They both started shouting over each other, clearly not hearing what the other one was saying at the moment. They both just seemed to want to make their point louder than the other. Something was said about needing support and something else was said about not having to be happy not while they were in his house.

"Then you know what?!" Jade snapped, shoving her chair away from the table. "I'M MOVING OUT!" she shouted as she stormed off.

"Jade-" Jackson really tried to cut in now.

"You're moving out?!" Klaus questioned as he got up to follow her; Elijah got up as well to try to stop them from arguing further.

"That's right!" she shouted as she was now half way down the hall.

"Jade, come on," Jackson was saying now, going after her. She could obviously move in with him if she wanted to, but with all the other family drama going on this hardly seemed like the best time.

"You're going to raise a baby in a one bedroom apartment?!" he scoffed at her now.

"WATCH ME!" Jade shouted defiantly, slamming her bedroom door shut. Elijah stopped his brother from going into the hall.

"I think that's enough from everyone for right now," Elijah told him, everyone able to hear Jade throwing and slamming things around her room while Jackson asked her to calm down. Keelin and Freya excused themselves to go unpack Keelin's things. Elijah really wasn't letting Klaus go anywhere; somewhere under Klaus's anger he knew that his brother was right, sinking back into his seat.

"...oh God," Klaus said, taking his head in his hands as the full reality of what all he said to his daughter sunk in. No, he wasn't thrilled by this news at all, but he never should have screamed at her. Did he really call her irresponsible? Or imply she was stupid by saying she wasn't thinking?

"It went better than I thought it would," Kol pointed out, sipping from his wine glass now. Klaus and Elijah were both giving him a look and he shrugged. "Jackson's still in one piece," he continued.

"Kol, honestly," Elijah stopped him now, all of them quiet as they could hear Jade and Jackson on the stairs, with Jackson insisting they at least take the night to think about it. Jade, forever her father's daughter, wouldn't change her mind. A few moments later they heard her car leaving. "You're going to have to give her some time to cool off," his older brother continued now and Klaus knew that he was right, knowing that his daughter was a lot like him in terms of her temper.

"Looks like I have plenty to occupy my time," Klaus noted as he was getting a call from Kelly now, figuring Jade probably told her by now what happened.

 **thanks for reading! i know that was a long one, let me know what you thought! :) i'm going to start working on the next chapter asap, what do you wanna see? klaus/kelly's confrontation, them telling jackson's grandma, cami/klaus talking about what all happened? all of it? lol can't wait to share more with you!**


	19. Under Pressure, Part 2

**_thanks for the reviews! hope you like this :)_**

 ** _Under Pressure, Part 2_**

 _"I am going to fix this for you. Because I am your father and that's what fathers do," Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

Jade spent most of that night awake, staring at the ceiling. Occasionally she would drift in and out of sleep, but mostly she was restless. She had never had a fight like that with her dad before; even she was stunned by the fact that she moved out. She wasn't backing down though, refusing to entertain the idea of going back. She wasn't going to be treated like a child when she was going to be having one herself.

Some time early in the morning she felt Jackson start to stir. Not wanting to have another conversation about whether or not she was serious about moving out she pretended to be asleep. He said her name once and when he got no response she felt him kiss her cheek before getting out of bed. She listened to him go across the small hall to the bathroom where he hopped in the shower. Listening to his morning routine was somewhat soothing, her mind clear for the first time since last night. He was back in the room now and she heard him starting to get dressed.

"Morning," she told him sleepily as he pulled on his jeans, grabbing a shirt from the closet.

"Hey," he grinned at her, going to sit on her side of the bed.

"You're up early," she commented as she sat up a little now, with him pulling his shirt over his head.

"Yeah?" Jackson laughed a little at her as though it should be obvious why. Her expression though told him she had forgotten. "You remember what we're doing today?"

"Ah," Jade said, shrugging at him.

"Who are we having breakfast with?" he hinted for her and it came rushing back to her; they still had to tell his grandmother she was pregnant.

"Oh no, Jack no," Jade complained, sinking into the bed and pulling the covers over her head. "I can't do that again."

"Jade," Jackson said in exasperation, tugging at the blankets gently; she wouldn't let them go. "Baby, it's going to be fine."

"You said that yesterday," she pointed out, her voice muffled by the blankets.

"Ok, well at least this time no one can move out," he informed her and she pulled the blankets down a little to glare at him. "Too soon?"

"Little bit," she said sarcastically.

"Got you out from under there," he said back, pulling the blankets off her entirely; she groaned in protest. "C'mon Jade," he sighed.

"Fiiiiine," she said dramatically, rolling out of bed and kissing him once. She went over to the drawer where she kept some clothes, tripping over one of her bags in the process; they had gotten in so late she hadn't bothered unpacking. "Ok, was this place always so small?" she snapped, kicking her bag out of the way. "Ugh, I'm sorry," she apologized immediately.

"You're ok," Jackson assured her, still sitting on the bed.

"No, I'm being mean to you, none of this is your fault," Jade continued, though her father shouting about them having a baby in a one bedroom place played over again in her mind. She figured between her werewolf temper, the vampire blood, and now the pregnancy hormones she was bound to be moodier than usual. She turned to get something else and she almost tripped again. "Ok, can we move?" she asked now.

"Sure," Jackson nodded, observing her as she got dressed. "Actually, I know a great place."

"Oh yeah?" she questioned as she pulled her sundress on.

"Yeah, it's just a few blocks from here," he listed off. " _Tons_ of room," he emphasized; she knew what he was doing.

"I hear the landlord is judgmental," she quipped as she ran a brush through her hair quickly. "I'm not going back there Jack," she said seriously now. "I really don't want to talk about it anymore."

"All right," he gave up, knowing her and her dad were going to have to make up on their own. "We'll figure out the space thing, ok?" he said as he got up now, going over to put his arms around her.

"Yeah," she grinned now. They were going to do this, just the two of them. "Babies are like, this big," she held her hands apart. "How much room could they take up?" she reasoned now and he was laughing at her. "What?" she laughed now.

"You're just very cute," he assured her, kissing her once.

"Cute enough to get out of breakfast?" she asked sweetly.

"Good try," he encouraged her, kissing her forehead before leading the way out of the apartment.

* * *

Jade's nerves about being around Mary were back in a big way. She had been nervous months ago when they met for the first time, knowing how a lot of older werewolves felt about vampires and witches. Mary had always been really welcoming though, knowing Jackson was happy with her. Now with the news they had, not to mention her dad's reaction last night, she had that same pit in her stomach.

"Do you want another pancake Jade?" Mary was offering, though Jade had barely picked at the one on her plate.

"Oh, no I'm ok Mary, thanks," she said quickly and Mary sat back at the table with them.

"Jade hasn't been feeling so great," Jackson was saying, resting his hand over Jade's and giving it a light squeeze.

"Well, sure," Mary nodded, sipping her coffee. "When I was pregnant with your mother I was sick as could be. Then, she could barely eat for weeks when she was pregnant with you."

"...what?" Jade was asking.

"You know?" Jackson was asking at the same time, just as surprised.

"I'm old, I'm not senile," she told them simply; she didn't seem angry or upset. "Besides, that baby is family. I could tell the second you came through the door."

"How could you tell when my dad couldn't?" Jade asked her. She often asked her and Jackson a lot of questions about being werewolves, different senses and powers she didn't fully understand.

"Some aren't as in touch with their werewolf sense," she said and Jade knew that was her nice way of saying her dad was more of a vampire than a wolf. "So, are you two excited?" she asked casually.

"...you're not mad?" Jade asked and Jackson turned to smile at her, as if to say I told you so.

"Why would I be?" Mary asked simply, sipping her coffee again. "You're good together, happy. These things happen," she shrugged. "Besides, you're both adults-"

"Do you wanna call my dad?" Jade cut in now, making her laugh a little.

"You two will be _fine_ ," Mary assured her. Jade wasn't sure if she meant her and Jackson or her and her dad; maybe it was a little of both. Either way, this was the most at ease she had felt since all the drama with her dad. "Have you been able to tell what you're having yet?"

"Ah, not yet," Jackson admitted, neither of them really focusing on that at the moment. They had all their attention on telling everyone about the baby first.

"That'll come soon enough," she nodded. "Once the dust has settled we'll have to set some plans for your delivery. Of course," she said, waving herself off as that was some time away. "That can all come after the wedding."

 _Oh no_ , Jade screamed internally.

"You know, we really haven't talked about that yet," Jackson brushed it off, resting a hand on Jade's knee to reassure her. They hadn't talked about that at all actually, and while Jackson would marry her in a second he had a feeling she wasn't going to want to get married just because they were having a baby; he wasn't wrong.

"Mmmm," Mary nodded, doing at least what Klaus didn't which was keeping her thoughts to herself.

 _Oh no_ , Jade was still thinking to herself.

* * *

"Well, what did you think was going to happen?" Marcel was asking on the phone that afternoon. Jade had called him after Jackson had left to get her some ginger ale to help her stomach. Her head hadn't stopped spinning since they left Mary's house.

 _"I don't know,"_ Jade grumbled as she collapsed on the couch.

"Did you think no body was going to bring up you two getting married?" he continued, nodding at Cami who was working alone as he sat down. She heard his comment about getting married.

"Uh oh," Cami said quietly and Marcel nodded in agreement.

 _"You know, I was a little too worried about everyone making it out of these conversations in one piece,"_ Jade snapped at him.

"And now that everyone has?" he questioned her and she was quiet. "Jade?"

 _"...I don't know,"_ Jade admitted. _"I don't want Jackson to ask me because he feels like he has to."_

"All right then," Marcel reassured her. "Don't worry about his grandmother or your dad or anything else, ok? It'll all work itself out."

 _"Yeah?"_ Jade asked skeptically. _"Even if she expects me to deliver out in the bayou like Jackson's mom, and her and every other werewolf in the history of the pack?"_

"Ok, see, that's where I draw the line," Marcel told her, trying to get her to smile. "Because my baby sister isn't giving birth in a swamp."

 _"You promise?"_ Jade asked, pouting in her voice but her brother got her to smile a little.

"Forget a private room, I'll get you your own hospital," he assured her and she laughed this time.

 _"Ok, thanks Marcel,"_ she told him; he was glad she was finally relaxing.

"No problem," he promised, noticing Klaus coming into the bar now, phone to his ear. "I'll talk to you later, yeah?" he said with her agreeing before hanging up. He could hear Kelly on the other end of Klaus's line before he even sat down, knowing she had been calling him on and off since the night before to repeatedly chew him out over what happened.

"Kelly," he was saying as he took a seat next to Marcel.

 _"What in the hell were you thinking?"_ she was demanding again.

"You've only asked me that thirteen times since yesterday," he informed her, anger tinging his voice. He was already kicking himself enough over how he talked to Jade, he didn't need Kelly's help to feel any worse.

 _"Have you talked to her yet?"_ Kelly asked him.

"How could I have possibly talked to her yet," Klaus started at her as Cami set a drink in front of him. "When I've spent most of my time since yesterday talking to _you_?"

 _"That's good Nik,"_ she quipped. _"You kick our daughter out and now you won't speak to her?"_

"I DIDN'T," he started to raised his voice but he refrained, taking a breath. "I didn't kick her out Kelly. She decided to leave on her own."

 _"What did I tell you was going to happen if you brought up living in your house?"_ she reminded him of their conversation months ago when Jade and Jackson started dating and he hadn't been so thrilled about it. _"This is the worst possible time for this to have happened."_

"I don't need reminded of that," he told her through his teeth. Did she think he forgot about everything with Sage and Finn? "Here, I'm a terrible father, are you happy? Do you feel better now?"

 _"You're not a terrible father Nik, but I,"_ she started off with a raised voice, then immediately stopped herself before she said anything too hurtful. He had a feeling he knew where that was going though.

"You what?" he asked her; silence. "Say it, Kelly."

 _"I already lost one daughter because of this family's drama,"_ she informed him. _"Fix this before I lose another."_ His response was to hang up the phone.

"She's wrong," Marcel told him as he heard it all, Klaus quickly throwing back the drink Cami had given him.

"Not entirely," he said, rubbing his forehead. "Have you talked to your sister?" he asked, turning to him now.

"Ah, just now," Marcel admitted.

"How is she?" he asked. He hadn't tried reaching her since she left last night, knowing she was a lot like him.

"More freaked out by Jackson's grandmother at the moment than you, if that helps," Marcel said lightly but he knew that wouldn't make him feel better.

"What happened with her?" Klaus asked and Marcel hesitated. "You know, never mind. That's for Jade to decide to tell me."

"I gotta go check in on Davina anyway," Marcel said, though he was thankful Klaus let it drop so easily. "I'll see you tonight," he said and Klaus nodded, turning back to the bar. Marcel gave Cami a heavy nod towards Klaus as if to say talk to him. She rolled her eyes as she had planned to anyway.

"Rough night?" she asked, handing him another drink.

"What have you heard?" he asked back, sipping this one rather than taking the whole think in one drink.

"Jade texted me she was staying at Jackson's, that you two had a big fight," she explained, leaning against the bar. It was a slow afternoon, she didn't expect any interruptions. "And, ah, she wants to come back to work," she added on as she was sure Klaus didn't know about that.

"Why?" he asked.

"Money," Cami answered simply. "She, um, was pretty adamant about not wanting any help."

"And by any help she means my help," Klaus clarified.

"I think work would be good for her, take her mind off some stuff," Cami told him as she knew he wasn't crazy about her coming back to the bar after what happened with Mason.

"I don't get to tell her what to do Cami," he said quietly, finishing his drink.

"...then why try to yesterday?" she asked him now; he didn't say anything at first. "You wanna know what I think?"

"You think I don't already know?" he asked back. "That she's my daughter, that I overreacted as her father?" He motioned to her. "You can't tell me your father or even Kieran would be too thrilled about the situation."

"They would not," she agreed, letting him get it out. She figured that between Kelly and his siblings he hadn't had much room to air his feelings about what happened, that instead they all just piled onto him about his reaction.

"She's too young to have a baby," Klaus continued.

"She's twenty three," Cami pointed out to him. She figured by this point at least one person reminded him Kelly was twenty when she had Jade, that she had to drop out while Jade had already finished school.

"They're not married," he countered.

"You know, we've come a long way in society in the last thousand years," Cami said lightly and he didn't seem too amused, with her remembering his point about her dad and uncle. "Look, I do get that you're dealing with a lot," she said now. "But based on what I heard between her and Marcel, I would _really_ recommend not bringing up getting married."

"My lips are sealed," he assured her. "...not that I'll ever be making any suggestions to her again," he muttered to himself.

"Well, you're her dad," she said now. "That's not likely to happen." Again, he didn't look amused. "Klaus, you're her dad. She _adores_ you, she really does. You two have one of the best relationships I've ever seen."

"It doesn't seem so great at the moment," he pointed out, motioning that he wanted another drink.

"You never did get to what I think about it," she said simply, pouring him another.

"If I have to hear about your _fear of replacement_ theory again," he told her. He liked Cami, he really did, and he was happy that someone was giving him a chance to talk about this rather than throw it in his face how wrong he was. What he didn't need though was to hear about how he didn't like Jackson because he was now the most important man in Jade's life.

"It's not that," Cami assured him and he motioned for her to continue. "You remember that day that I came over to confront you about being Jade's dad?"

"Vividly," he nodded as that was also the day that they found out Vicki had died.

"That was the day Jade asked me to bring over a pregnancy test for her," she informed him. "We went upstairs, she took all four, they all came back positive. And Jade...she was so scared. I guess after everything that happened in college with Mason she was afraid to tell Jackson anything."

"I'm sure," he said softly, able to see that Jade would be afraid to tell Jackson the news after Mason's reaction.

"Then she told him, and it went really well," Cami went on. "He said he loved her, he promised to take care of both of them."

"Jackson's a good man," Klaus admitted.

"He is," Cami agreed. "They came over here yesterday to tell me and the guys about the baby. And she was fine to tell us but she still seemed scared." She nodded at him. "She was really scared to tell you."

"And I reacted the way I did," he said as he figured the way she was going with this. "She was scared of disappointing me and I proved her right. Is that what you're getting at?"

"No," Cami shook her head and he seemed confused. "You and Jade have the same eyes."

"She has her mother's eyes," he told her as though that was obvious.

"In color, not expression," she corrected him. "You both have the same look when you're scared."

"I'm not-"

"Jade's technically older than you now, yes?" Cami didn't let him finish and he stopped. "She's getting older Klaus. She's with someone serious, she's having a baby." She motioned to him. "These are all reminders that, at some point, you're going to outlive her. You didn't overreact because you're disappointed in her. You overreacted because you're scared." They were silent for a moment.

"You shouldn't have any trouble getting a job once you're done with school love," he told her with a soft smile as he got up from his seat.

"Where are you going?" Cami asked him.

"To make things up to my daughter," he answered, heading out of the bar now.

* * *

Jackson and Jade weren't talking.

It wasn't that they were fighting, they just didn't know what to say to each other at the moment. Jade refused to talk about her dad or even entertain the notion of going home. Jackson was cautious to bring up anything from that morning, especially after he ran into Marcel on the street when he was on the way home from the store. Marcel warned him Jade was flipping out about his grandmother's expectations, not that Jackson expected her to go along with any of them.

So, there they were on the couch, Jackson sitting there with Jade's head resting against his leg, running his hand gently over her hair. She would occasionally let out a sigh, though he couldn't tell if they were of content or discontent. Wanting to try to make her happier he focused on something else for a second.

"Jade."

"Hm?" she asked, her eyes having drifted shut.

"I think I know what we're having," he told her, though once it popped into his head he was pretty confident he was right.

"Oh yeah?" she smiled as she turned onto her back so she could look up at him. "What's that?"

"We're having a girl," he answered with a smile back.

"Aw, yay," she grinned, lifting her head up to meet him halfway for a kiss. They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"I got it," Jackson said as he got up, Jade taking the opportunity to sit up.

"If it's my dad or my brother I'm not here," Jade told him, not looking over to the door as he answered it. "Or his brother," he said, figuring Elijah might try to get her to go home too.

"You didn't specify which of his brothers," she heard her uncle Kol saying as he came in to sit with her. She looked to Jackson who nodded that he was headed out to give them a minute.

"Are you going to try to make me go home?" she asked him.

"I'm the last person that should talk to anyone about going home," he reminded her.

"Fair point, you can stay," she told him, turning to face him a little more, crossing her legs as she sat. "What are you doing over here though?"

"I can't come visit my favorite niece?"

"Only niece," she reminded him with a smirk.

"Not for too much longer if I heard right," he smirked right back at her.

"Eavesdropping!" she laughed, pushing his shoulder.

"I wanted to see how you were," he partially admitted to her.

"Mmm," she shrugged, sipping her ginger ale. "You know, I've had better weeks."

"I imagine so," he agreed with her. "Can I tell you something darling?"

"Shoot," she told him.

"I'm the last person to talk about going home, so I won't tell you that you should," he reassured her. "But."

"There it is," she murmured.

"I think we can both also agree that I would be the last person to stick up for your dad," he finished.

"Did he send you?" she asked, figuring that her dad knew she would turn away anyone else.

"He doesn't know I'm here," he told her truthfully. "To be honest, he hasn't noticed much since you've left." Jade wasn't sure what to say. "How long have you known your dad?"

"Ah, eighteen years," she said as she ran the math quickly.

"Well, I can say I have you beat there," he said lightly, getting a small smile but also an eye roll out of her. "In all that time, you know what I've never seen him do?" Jade shrugged at him. "Show remorse."

"Kol-"

"I'm serious Jade," he interrupted her. "He's never felt guilty, never apologized to anyone." He motioned to himself. "All he's put me through in a thousand years and he never once told me he was sorry."

"He told you he was sorry about yesterday?" Jade asked him seriously.

"Not exactly," Kol admitted and she sighed. "But he hasn't stopped working on some project all day. All I know is it's for you." He nodded at her. "You want to go check it out?"

"Yeah," Jackson answered for her from where he had come back.

"I will go," Jade agreed with the both of them. "But, I'm not taking any of my stuff."

"Deal," Kol told her, nodding for her to follow him.

* * *

When they got to the house Klaus wasn't anywhere to be seen, though Freya told them he was still upstairs. Jade and Jackson went alone where the noise sounded like it was coming from Jade's room. They realized though that it was coming from the room next to it, Jade opening the door without knocking. The guest room that was there was completely empty, save for a few things hanging on the wall that her dad was currently taking down.

"Jade, Jackson," he said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you..."

"Kol came by," Jackson told him since Jade didn't seem like she was up to talking yet, crossing her arms over herself.

"Well, I am happy you're here," he admitted, looking more at Jade but she was avoiding him as she looked around the empty room; he gave her that space. "I owe you an apology Jackson," he told him first.

"It's fine," Jackson told him. He was his girlfriend's dad after all, he hadn't anticipated the news was going to go very well. At this point he was just more interested in Klaus and Jade making up.

"I overreacted," Klaus continued, looking to Jade again. "I shouldn't have said what all I said...but you're my only daughter Jade." Still silence. Elijah was right; Jade was a lot like him.

"Well, hey," Jackson said now. "I'm guessing we'll be able to understand how you feel a little better now," he continued now, resting a hand on Jade's back; when she looked at him he nodded for her to say something.

"We're having a girl," Jade murmured finally, looking at her dad for the first time.

"Well, that is great news," he told them with a soft smile. "I can tell you personally that having a daughter is the greatest."

"Always?" Jade asked him now.

"Always," Klaus promised.

"Even when she makes you so mad you," she said, looking around the near empty room. "Tear apart the guest room?" she questioned, still confused by what was going on there.

"This wasn't because I was angry," Klaus assured her, glad she was at least speaking now. "This was supposed to be a surprise, for you." He motioned between them. "Both of you."

"...ok," Jade said, still not getting it.

"I figured that the room next to yours should be the nursery," he explained. "I was going to paint it, decorate it," he continued. "But, you're an adult, this is your baby. So," he motioned to them again. "I leave that to you."

"Do you mean that?" she asked, more about what he said about being an adult.

"I do," he promised. "Jade, I know how hard it was for your mother that I wasn't there to help." He didn't mention what Jade already knew which was that her grandparents had actually threw her mom out of the house when she had to drop out of school. "I'd like a chance to make up for that now, however you let me."

"Ok," Jade agreed as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Come here sweetheart," Klaus said, pulling her in to hug her.

"I'm gonna go back and get her stuff," Jackson said, letting them have a moment. Klaus heard Jade muttering some incoherent things about the small apartment, about her dad yelling at her, about Jackson's grandma wanting her to have a baby without regular doctors or medicine.

"It's all right now," he promised her. "It's going to be fine."

 **thanks for reading! i really hope you liked it! the next chapter is going to skip ahead a few months, going to try to get that posted soon!**


	20. Break On Through

**_thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, i'm so glad you liked it! like i said this chapter is going to jump ahead a few months (since this story was supposed to be one shot based anyway...) i really hope you like this!_**

 ** _Break on Through_**

 _"I didn't protect you from your step-father," Klaus, Look After You, Chapter 29_

Jackson felt like he couldn't breathe when he woke up that night, sitting up suddenly from a nightmare. He wasn't sure when the last time he had a nightmare was, let alone one about his grandfather, but that was what he had. Glancing at the clock and knowing the bar would still be open he got out of bed, needing to get out. He got out of bed slowly as he was trying not to disturb Jade who was now seven months pregnant.

"Jack?" he heard her saying sleepily as she noticed him finishing getting dressed. "What are you doing up?" She was still settled on her side as he came to sit next to her.

"I just need to get some air," he brushed it off.

"You sure you're ok?" she yawned.

"Yeah," he said lightly, leaning over to kiss her head. "Yeah, I'm just a little restless."

"Ok," she said sleepily, relaxing back again.

"I want you two to get some rest," he said now, but she was already back asleep.

He left the house without much notice, heading down the street towards Rousseau's. Just like he thought, Josh was working that night, with Aiden sitting at the bar. Josh noticed him first, nodding hello as Jackson took the empty seat next to Aiden.

"Hey, thought you would have been in for the night," Aiden joked as he and Oliver had been giving Jackson a bit of a hard time for being "old" now that he was expecting a kid. Aiden's was always lighthearted and fun at least, while Oliver's was a little more targeted at the fact Jackson was spending a lot of time with the Mikaelsons.

"Ah, I was," Jackson admitted, thanking Josh for the drink he passed him. "Till I started having nightmares about Richard." Aiden stopped, turning to him seriously.

"...your grandfather?" Aiden asked in surprise and Jackson nodded. "That hasn't happened since-"

"Since I was a kid, yeah," Jackson said, sipping his beer now.

"That's...weird," Aiden decided on the wording, Jackson just nodding at first.

"What's weirder," Jackson started to explain now. "It...it was different than the ones I used to have."

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked in concern, knowing what they were like when they were kids. While Richard was never violent towards Mary or Jackson directly, he could fly off the handle really easily. When Jackson was a kid he often had nightmares about a time when Richard would finally turn on the two of them. They ended once Richard was gone from their lives for good.

"I mean, one, I don't really have a reason to be afraid of him anymore," Jackson said, pointing out the obvious. His grandfather was long dead, not that Jackson couldn't defend himself these days. "But, it's what he was talking about."

"What do you mean?" Aiden asked, confused now.

"It always used to be about the pack," Jackson explained.

"Ok-"

"He said he didn't kill the Labonairs for me to end up with a Mikaelson," Jackson interrupted him. "It just felt very...targeted."

"Maybe it's just stress," Aiden tried to reason and Jackson gave him a look. "I'm serious. There's a lot going on right now," he reminded him. Jackson, of course, knew that he was right. Davina was able to be out of the attic now, but only because the harvest took a turn. Three witches did come back, just not the ones that were supposed to.

And with that came many unexpected consequences, including one of the witches going after Kieran and hexing him like she had hexed Sean. His hex was slower going than Sean's though, giving Cami and Klaus what they both believed was time to try to save him. More witches meant a bigger threat against their family, and that didn't count the fact that no one could find Finn or Sage anywhere.

"Everything that's going on, whatever you and Oliver's deal is," Aiden continued to list; Jackson waved him off at that, not wanting to get into that right now. "Plus, you're gonna be a dad Jack, that's stressful enough." He shrugged now, drinking his own beer. "Good example or not, Richard was your father figure. It makes sense that you would be having nightmares about him."

"Yeah, maybe," Jackson agreed, though he wasn't quite convinced. Something felt off about this dream, that it wasn't his subconscious messing with him, but like it was actually his grandfather threatening him.

"You talk to Jade about it?" Aiden asked now.

"No, I didn't want to stress her out about it," Jackson sighed heavily. "Especially, if it's nothing," he said thoughtfully, deciding he agreed with Aiden even if it was just for his own sanity.

"Right, nothing," Aiden agreed with a smile. "You want another drink?"

"I should probably head back," Jackson was saying now, pushing back from the bar. "Thanks man."

"Anytime," Aiden assured him, Jackson leaving now.

Walking back now, he felt better than he did before, though deep down he wasn't sure he bought the stress dream idea. Either way though, his talk with Aiden was enough to push it out of his mind. Unfortunately though, that peace was to be short lived as he came back into the house, spotting Klaus drinking alone downstairs.

"You...ok?" Jackson asked somewhat awkwardly. He and Klaus were getting along better, sure, but they still rarely spent time just the two of them. Klaus didn't answer, but his face said everything wasn't alright. "Is it Kieran?"

"He's alright, for now," he tacked on, throwing back his drink before pouring another. "Cami insisted I come home, try to get some rest, but that's...all but useless," he said with a dry laugh.

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked, afraid he already knew where this was going.

"I'm not sure if it's guilt for not being there for Kelly, or for Jade until she was five but-" He couldn't believe he was about to talk to Jackson about his nightmare about Mikael, but it had really messed with his head.

"You had a nightmare too," Jackson realized and Klaus looked at him in concern.

"Too?" he asked seriously, though they weren't able to discuss it further as they heard Jade screaming upstairs. They both ran up the stairs, Jackson in the room first and turning on the light where he saw Jade sitting up fully alert, gasping like he had been not just an hour ago.

"Jade, are you ok?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" Klaus was asking from the doorway.

"It was just a nightmare," she said, letting out a deep breath, not catching the look Jackson and Klaus gave each other. "It's so weird though..."

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked seriously.

"I haven't had a nightmare about Step-Matt since I was a kid," she explained, looking at her dad now. "I don't know that I've had one since you moved in with us, when I was _five_ ," she emphasized. "God, these hormones," she was saying lightly, though now her phone was ringing. It was after one in the morning and her brother was calling her.

 _"Jade?"_ Matt said when she answered; he sounded out of breath.

"Matty, you ok?" Jade asked worriedly, looking to Jackson and her dad who she knew could hear what he was saying.

 _"Something really weird just happened to me, you're the only person that-"_

"Matt, slow down," Jade told him. "What happened, are you hurt?"

 _"No, no nothing like that,"_ Matt assured her. _"I just had this super weird dream."_ Jade felt her throat tighten with anxiety.

"...about what?" she asked now.

 _"About my dad,"_ Matt went on. _"But...that doesn't make sense, right? I mean, I was a baby when he died, mom didn't have any pictures of him. I should have no idea what he looks like, or what our old house was like but-"_

"Were you hiding in the closet?" Jade asked, almost in a whisper.

 _"...yeah,"_ Matt admitted, not sure how she knew that.

"And was he pissed...about my dad," Jade continued. "About how he killed him, then lived with us."

 _"Ok, how do you know all of that?"_ Matt was asking her now.

"I had the same dream," Jade explained, looking between her dad and Jackson. "And something tells me I wasn't the only one that had a nightmare tonight," she realized now.

* * *

The next morning was a tense one as they were all gathered around the table, just like they were the night Jade told everyone at dinner that she was pregnant. The only one missing that morning was Freya who was trying to find a link as to why they were all having nightmares all of the sudden. She looked grim as she came into the dining room, setting a spell book down on the table.

"All right," she said, breaking the silence. "Who here had a nightmare last night?" Klaus, Elijah and Kol all put their hands up, as did Jade and Jackson. They all knew this though, but now Freya put her hand up as well.

"You?" Klaus asked. He knew that he and his brothers had the same dreams about Mikael, that Jackson dreamed of his grandfather, that Matt senior haunted Jade and Matt. "Mikael adored you, he only ever spoke of-"

"It was Dahlia," Freya stopped him, reminding him of her longtime parental figure. "Between what she told me and what I've found...I think I know what Finn and Sage have been up to all this time." They waited for her to continue. "The other side is breaking down," she started to explain. "The barrier between those who died and us is getting thinner."

"Which is why they're tormenting us," Elijah said and she nodded.

"But, that doesn't make any sense," Jade reasoned now. "Yeah, your grandfather was a werewolf, Mikael was a vampire, Dahlia was a witch," she listed. "But, my step dad shouldn't be there. He wasn't anything," she said, looking to her father now for confirmation.

"Those that are truly evil Jade can end up there as well," Freya told her gently. "Whether they are actually of supernatural origin or not."

"Where do Finn and Sage fit in all of this?" Kol asked now.

"Where does our mother reside?" Freya asked in return. "They're trying to break the barrier."

"What would they need to do that?" Klaus asked now.

"I'm still trying to find that out," Freya answered, still not sure what exactly they would need to pull that off. "Unfortunately, they have a pretty strong ally on the other side."

"Esther," Klaus said like it should be obvious. He excused himself as he was getting a call now from Cami, with neither Freya or Jade having the heart to remind him what other witch there would have a bigger desire to come back, especially now that Jade was pregnant.

"What is it?" Jackson asked Jade, sensing something else was wrong.

"We'll talk about it later," Jade said as she noticed her dad coming back now. "Is Cami ok?"

* * *

"Are you feeling ok?" Davina was asking Jade a few days later at Kieran's funeral.

"Just this annoying cough," Jade murmured, sipping some water now. "But, really, I'm good. How are you?" she asked worriedly. With everything going on with the witches, Davina had been a little all over the place. She had gotten super sick before the three other witches came back, and now the coven was ostracizing her. It also seemed that now, the three older witches were dying off and the coven girls were coming back as they were intended.

"They all hate me," Davina told her simply. "But, I'm kinda used to being the odd one out so," she shrugged now.

"Being the weird one is underrated," Jade assured her, spotting Cami among the people at the bar for the wake. "You ok?" she said as she prepared to excuse herself, coughing again.

"Are _you_?" Davina emphasized; Jade squeezed her hand as her answer, heading over to her best friend.

"Is it bad I prefer Sean's funeral to this?" Cami asked, motioning around. The bar wasn't nearly as crazy as it was last night where there was music as well as plenty of drinking. After the procession to the cemetery this morning they all returned to the bar. The band wasn't there but there's was still plenty of partying going on.

"I can't say an Irish wake is what I'd have in mind for myself," Jade said lightly and Cami laughed a little but she did start to tear up. "Here, come here," Jade said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the kitchen, closing the French doors behind her.

"Whatever kind it is, I'm so sick of funerals," Cami was saying, wiping at her eyes.

"Same he-" Jade started to agree, but they both jumped at the sight of someone in the kitchen. Jade had seen her around before but wasn't sure of her name.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you." She stood on the opposite side of the counter from them. "My name is Francesca Correa, I'm new to the human faction. I was so sorry to hear about your uncle," she told Cami.

"Thanks," Cami accepted, though both she and Jade remained skeptical.

"I'm actually glad we have a second to talk," she was saying, noting their privacy. "I was wondering if your uncle left me a key?"

"...what?" Cami asked now.

"It's just that, with his...condition," she worded it, though it still wasn't very sensitive. "I've sort of taken over as representative. So, he should have left-"

"Except the O'Connells have been here for three hundred years or something, so," Jade stopped her. "It's actually Cami's key, not yours." The truth was neither one of them knew what key she was talking about, but Jade didn't like her coming in here and acting like she ran the place.

"Jade Mikaelson, right?" Francesca said to her now. "Look, we don't know each other very well."

"You're right, we don't," Jade stopped her again, this time allowing Francesca's glass to explode in her hand much like she often did with terrible customers at the bar. Francesca's hand was soon gushing blood. "Like how you probably don't know that I killed someone in this very kitchen," she informed her with a fake smile, Francesca grabbing a nearby rag to wrap her hand in. "You'll want to head through the back with that. All vampires that way," Jade said as she nodded her head back towards the main room. Francesca took the opportunity to leave.

"Have I told you that you're my favorite person?" Cami asked, resting a chin on Jade's shoulder.

"Not today," Jade teased her, resting her head against hers for a moment before she started coughing again.

"I'm gonna go grab some water," Cami told her, heading out of the kitchen. Jade left as well, lingering in the doorway, watching people around the bar. She was glad Cami ran into Klaus, stopping to talk to him for a second. She had eased up on pushing that lately, but she knew that there was definitely something there between them.

"Hey Jade," Oliver said, getting her attention. "Sorry, I'm late."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Jade said, nodding over to where Cami was.

"Right, I know," Oliver agreed with her, knowing he messed up. "I need to find Jack too, is he around?"

"I saw him with Aiden before," she said, not sure where he had gone off to. "Are _you_ going to tell me what's going on with you two?" she asked, implying that Jackson hadn't told her anything; his face told her no. "Look, I'm not stupid," she said now, pulling her sweater across herself as she felt really cold. She knew when things started changing with the two of them, she knew it started around the time they found out she was pregnant. "Were you and I ever friends?"

"Yeah, we're friends Jade," he assured her. "And the free beers never hurt," he tacked on to tease her.

"Yeah, yeah," she laughed at him, but then she started coughing again. This time it was more than before, she couldn't seem to get it to stop.

"Jade, are you..." Oliver stopped as she was spitting up blood now. "Oh God, come here," he said quickly, leading her into the kitchen. She started coughing more and he had to support her weight. He wanted to get help but he couldn't leave her there.

"What's going on?" Elijah asked as he had spotted Jade coughing and heading into the kitchen. Her mouth was covered in blood and she was starting to slump over now as she passed out.

"We need some help in here," Oliver was saying as he scooped Jade up to lay her on the counter, Elijah already taking off. Hearing the commotion and not spotting Jade, Davina and Jackson headed over that way.

"Oh my God," Davina gasped.

"What happened?" Jackson was asking at the same time.

"I have no idea," Oliver said honestly as they came closer. "We were talking and then she just started coughing blood."

"She's shaking," Davina said and Jackson peeled off his coat to lay over her.

"What's going on?" Klaus was asking now as he appeared with Elijah. Davina was holding Jade's hand, concentrating to try to figure out what was going on.

"I don't think she's breathing," Jackson said worriedly as he cleared Jade's hair from her face; Klaus tried to feed her his blood now to heal but nothing happened.

"I only hear one heartbeat," Klaus was saying now, the fear in his voice showing it was the baby's heart.

"I know what's wrong," Davina said quickly. "I need someone to get my bag..." Elijah sped off to get it in a moment. "It's one of the other harvest girls," Davina was explaining as she grabbed a few things from her bag. "They're taking advantage of the barrier to the other side being thin right now-"

"She's _there_ right now?" Jackson asked.

"With the right spell I can pull her back," Davina assured him, setting a few things out around Jade as she got ready to start. She was only concentrating a few seconds when Jade sat up suddenly, gasping for air.

"Easy, easy," Jackson was telling her, resting a hand on her back to steady her.

"Are you all right sweetheart?" Klaus was asking her now and Jade nodded quickly.

"Yeah, thank you Davina," she was saying now, her dad handing her something to wipe the blood away.

"But, I barely did anything," Davina was saying, which was the truth. Davina had no idea how Jade escaped from there because her magic would have barely scratched the surface at that point. From Jade's look though, she could tell that something else had happened.

"Don't sell yourself short," Jade told her and Davina took the hint to take the credit. "You saved our lives."

"What happened Jade?" Jackson asked her.

"They were all there," Jade explained to them. "Step-Matt, Mikael, Richard...they were all there." She hesitated because she knew she was going to set off sparks now. "...they were trying to kill me," she admitted.

"Who did you say was the witch over the harvest girls?" Klaus was asking Davina now, having talked with her and Kol about it before. The last remaining elder that came back with the harvest magic was asking as a mentor to the other two harvest girls.

"Genevieve," Davina answered.

"We're going to find her," Klaus was saying, motioning to Elijah. "Get her home," he was saying before they took off.

"I tried keeping everyone busy," Cami was saying as she noticed the kitchen door open now, coming in. "What's going...oh my God, Jade!" she said when she saw some of the dried blood still on her.

"I'm fine," Jade promised, sliding off the counter with Jackson's help. "This is my dad's," she said when she realized there was still blood.

"Tell it to me on our way to your place," Cami told her now. "The _party_ ," she added sarcastically. "Is pretty much over." Jade nodded, linking arms with Cami as they started to leave, Davina close behind.

"Thanks for helping," Jackson was telling Oliver now.

"I actually didn't do anything," he said back, referencing what Davina said earlier.

"I wasn't around and you helped take care of her," Jackson explained. He didn't add on what Jade thought, which was that she was the problem.

"I've never had an issue with Jade," Oliver clarified. "It's...who comes along with her."

"She can't control where she's from, any more than we can," Jackson reminded him.

"No, but we can try to control what does and doesn't impact our pack," Oliver argued. "Things are different."

"And how were they before?" Jackson reasoned. "People dying left and right? Then being cursed for years?" Oliver didn't say anything back. "Just forget it," Jackson said, going to catch up with the girls now.

* * *

Jade didn't want anyone to leave that night, not with everything that was going on. Cami easily agreed to stay, not wanting to be home alone after the funeral anyway. Davina took a little more convincing, but eventually she agreed to stay over too. Klaus and Elijah were still out, who knew where. While Jackson wondered what was going on with them, he was just glad Jade was home and safe, spotting her sitting on the couch in the study, book in her lap.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked, coming in to sit next to her now; he realized she had the baby name book out again. "I thought we settled on Zoe?"

"I think I hate it now," she said absentmindedly, flipping to another page.

"Do you actually hate it or do your hormones hate it?" he asked.

"I can't tell," she said honestly, making a bit of a sad face at him.

"Well, I wasn't that attached to it," he assured her, taking the book to humor her. He noticed a lot of names had lines through them. "...what happened to the book?"

"My dad got a hold of it," Jade said, resting her head against the back of the couch.

"Katherine was my mom's name," he pointed out, noting the line through it, though he never really intended to name their little girl after his mother.

"Yeah, he super crossed through that one. Didn't want to ask," she shook her head, smirking a little. Jackson laughed, leafing through a few pages.

"Mollie," he read off.

"Mmm," Jade scrunched up her face, shaking her head. "She doesn't feel like a Mollie."

"As of this morning she still felt like a Zoe," Jackson teased her and she pushed his shoulder, with him turning back to the book and flipping a few more pages.

"Jackson."

"Hm?" he asked, giving her his attention now.

"I wasn't entirely honest about what happened earlier," she confessed.

"...ok," he nodded hesitantly.

"Davina didn't pull me back," Jade explained. "I, um, I was pushed back."

"By your grandmother?" Jackson asked curiously. He wondered if in all the people that would try to hurt her maybe there was someone that would want to save her.

"By her sister," she corrected him. "Dahlia." Jackson nodded, remembering Freya talking about her the other day at breakfast. "Jackson, um, my grandmother...couldn't have kids," she started off, not sure how to tell him this. She never had because it never seemed important. Dahlia was dead long before she was even born.

"Didn't she have seven?" Jackson asked, not sure what that had to do with any of this.

"She used magic to get pregnant, but it wasn't her own," Jade went on. "It was her older sister's magic. And she did it, but she made my grandmother make her a promise. She had to give her the first born..."

"That's why Freya had nightmares about her," Jackson realized as he knew she was the oldest and Jade nodded. He knew Freya had been separated from the family for some time but it didn't know how that happened, just that that was why she wasn't a vampire.

"It wasn't just her oldest though," Jade went on. "It was every oldest. It's...me. And it's..." She couldn't finish as she allowed her hands to rest on her stomach.

"Jade," Jackson was shaking his head.

"She pushed me back because she needs me alive," Jade told him. "So the baby could be born. So she can..." She shook her head. "Cash in or whatever."

"That's not going to happen," Jackson told her now.

"Jack, you don't-"

"Jade, she's not coming back," he assured her. "You, Freya, and Davina are going to find a way to keep them all in. And if you can't," he said to cut her off as he was seeing she was about to argue. "If you can't," he continued. "Do you honestly think she's getting anywhere near either of you? Without the biggest fight of her life?"

"...ok," Jade agreed.

"You need to relax, for both of you," he told her now, taking her hand.

"Ok," she promised, taking the book back from him now. "Something positive," she said with a small smile, flipping through the pages.

"Yeah," he agreed, with her, looking over her shoulder as they browsed the H names. "Hanna."

"No...Heather?"

"No," he said now, looking closer. "Hope."

"Hope," she repeated. "I think that's it."

"Perfect," he agreed, kissing her now.

 **thanks for reading! i really hope you liked it! more soon!**


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